Shadows of the Past
by mknote
Summary: An upsurge in monster activity leads AVALANCHE to investigate an upstart power company reminiscent of Shinra. The seventh story in Frank Verderosa's FFVII Internet Series.
1. Old Fears

CHAPTER I

OLD FEARS

"Something has to be done."

Aeris did not reply. For a long time she just stood there, first staring at the fist sized rock that lay on the floor of the church beside the front pew, then slowly following the trail of broken glass until it fell upon the hole in the stain glass window the rock had left in it's wake. Reeve could see neither anger nor surprise in her expression. Not that he had expected to. That wasn't like Aeris, but still.

"Aeris, did you hear me?"

Still not looking at him she stepped forward, until she stood right beside the stone that lay on the ground. Slowly she reached down and picked it up, looking at it as if it were some precious object instead of the dangerous missile it was, or had been a short time ago.

"Yes," she finally spoke. She turned toward him. "I don't understand Reeve. Why would someone do something like this?" She walked over to the window and touched the glass, her fingers running along the lead that outlined the angels within it. "Why would someone ruin such beautiful artwork?"

Reeve shook his head slowly. He was sorely tempted to say 'I told you so', but held his tongue. He had warned her that something like this might happen. Sometimes he just couldn't understand her. She wasn't naive. She had seen so much in her life, so much pain and anguish, she was well aware that the world could be a very ugly place, but still she was surprised when that ugliness reared its head, even when a child could have seen it coming. It was part of her appeal, he had to admit, and yet sometimes it could be a little unnerving. It always made him realize just how vulnerable she could be.

"We've already discussed this," he said. "You're a Cetra. You're different. There's always someone out there looking for an excuse, any stupid reason to tear something down. To them the fact that you're a Cetra is reason enough. Why people like that would live here in Ifalnia is beyond me, but that's the case. It's that Church of Humanity. You and I both know it. Why you didn't let me shut them down..."

"No!" Aeris said with surprising vehemence. "I won't let you close their church."

Reeve looked at her in exasperation. The Church of Humanity had been founded almost a year ago, across the city from Aeris church. Reeve hadn't paid much attention at the time. Half a dozen other churches had sprung up as well, as the population grew. But this one soon got his attention because of it's emphasis on following the way of humans, and decrying everything Cetra. At first their teachings had been inoffensive enough, but gradually their anti Cetra rhetoric had increased, and Reeve had become more and more uncomfortable as their talk had become more and more inflammatory, until now they were talking openly about the evils of Cetra ways, about how it was undermining human society and must be stopped, at any cost.

Reeve had mentioned this to Aeris many times, even bringing it up at City council meetings, but when the others in the council agreed with Reeve that they should put a stop to it, Aeris had objected. She held no position on the council, and technically they could have ignored her, but as the only remaining Cetra on the planet, and the founder of Ifalnia, they had bowed to her will. Now Reeve was beginning to think that maybe they had been hasty. Perhaps in this particular instance they should have gone over her head. It wasn't like it would be difficult. Reeve had found that Gilan Bradford, the founder of the church, had made some errors on the application when he applied to the city council to have their Church erected. Because of those errors, Reeve had the legal authority to close the church down. But Aeris wanted no part of it.

"Aeris, be reasonable," he said, already knowing that he was probably wasting his time, but determined to give it another try. "Gilan Bradford is speaking openly against you. Telling everyone about the evils of the Cetra. And you've done nothing to defend yourself, nothing to dissuade him. He's in the news practically every day with another shocking accusation, and what do we hear from you, what do we here from the Church of Ifalna? Not a word. All people hear all day long is how bad the Cetra were, how they are ruining the planet. With that in their ear all day long is it any wonder that they start to think their might be some truth to it? At least defend yourself! Go on the air and tell them the man's a liar! Tell the people about all the good you've done, about all the good the Cetra did. All right, we found out that they weren't saints but they still helped us a lot. Even Ellengio protected us from Jenova when it was here, and you yourself saved the entire planet, perhaps more than once!"

"They already know that," Aeris stated, walking over to him, still holding the stone in her hand.

"But they forget!" Reeve exclaimed. "People have to be reminded, Aeris. They have to be told how it really was, especially when there's someone out there shouting lies about it all. If you don't set the record straight they're all going to start believing this guy."

"Reeve, you're overreacting," she said, reaching forward and taking his arm.

"I am not!" Reeve snapped. "Someone threw a rock through the window! Doesn't that tell you something? Would you even have thought something like that possible three months ago? Aeris, you could have been standing here. That stone could have hit you..."

Aeris smiled and ran her hand down Reeve's arm.

"Is that what you're really worried about?" she asked softly. "That I might have been hurt?"

"Of course," he said, a little bit calmer. "You've been through enough, Aeris. After all you've done, you deserve some happiness in your life. Is that really too much to ask?"

Aeris looked at him with a smile on her face for a moment, then turned her head away and sighed. Her hand slid down farther to grip his. They both knew life didn't work that way.

"Perhaps," she said. "But I created Ifalnia as a place for everyone to live, no matter what race or religion. Everyone here has a right to voice their opinion, even I don't happen to agree with it."

"I understand that," Reeve said, gripping her hand more tightly and pulling it toward him. She turned around, standing face to face with him now. "And I admire that. I'm sure their are many people here who came here just for that very ideal. It's a noble idea, but humans have a capacity to turn around even the noblest of ideas for their own twisted ends. We're not all saints, Aeris. In fact, none of us are, but some are less saintly than others. There is a line that has to be drawn. There are other factors involved, other rights, like the right to live in safety. When free speech is used as a cover to incite riot, that's going too far."

"Is it?" Aeris questioned. "The people won't riot unless that's what they want to do. And if that's what they want to do, then who am I to stop them?"

Reeve couldn't follow this at all.

"What?" he questioned. "Are you saying that it's all right for the people to threaten you?"

Aeris shrugged.

"If that's their will."

Reeve let go of Aeris hand and stared at her.

"So what are you saying, that if they're going to riot then their going to riot? That it's fate? That you'll just stand here if they throw more rocks through the windows? You won't fight back, even if they come in here to kill you?"

"I've faced death before," she reminded him.

Reeve practically stamped his foot in exasperation. He couldn't believe she was talking like this!

"I have too," he said, much louder than he had planned. "And believe me, it's not something I want to repeat anytime soon!"

For a moment Aeris did not reply. Did he see a faint apologetic look in her eyes?

"I know," she said softly. "I'm sorry. I know you're worried about me. But I can't compromise on this. Ifalna is for everyone, no matter what their beliefs. If I stop the Church of Humanity from preaching what they believe, then I'll destroy everything I've worked to achieve here. I'm not going to let that happen!"

Reeve looked at her helplessly. How could he get through to her? How could he make her understand? He wanted to shake her, yell at her to snap out of it. After all she had been through, what would it take to stop her from seeing the world through her rose colored glasses? Maybe if he got angry, maybe then she would begin to understand. But one look in her soft green eyes melted away any attempt he might have made at anger. He couldn't be mad at her. Those deep green eyes, her delicate nose and soft lips, everything about her just made him melt. She was the most perfect girl he had ever seen. To cause something to marr that beauty, even something so simple as a frown, was too much to bear.

Abruptly he reached forward and swept her into his arms, pulling her tightly too him. For a moment a look of surprise crossed her face, then she relaxed and put her arms around him as well.

"I love you Aeris," he whispered. "I sorry, but I can't bear the thought of anything happening to you. You're more precious to me than any ideal. I'm not going to stand by and see you hurt if there's anything in my power that I can do to prevent it."

Aeris rested her forehead against his chin for a moment, then looked up at him.

"I love you too," she said. "But if you truly love me, you won't interfere, for this is more important to me than my life."

For a moment he looked away. What about what was important to him? Didn't that matter? But when his eyes returned to hers he knew there was only one thing he could say.

"Very well. I won't close the church down," he conceded. He couldn't argue with her. In spite of his talents as Mayor, at getting things done, at getting people to see things from his point of view, he was helpless when it came to her. But he still felt the need to salvage something from this. "But at least reply to his attacks. Go on the air or in the papers and tell the truth. Prove that the man is a liar."

"You know I'm not very good at that sort of thing," Aeris replied patiently. "I've always believed that actions speak louder than words."

"Maybe you should go out and crack Gilan Bradford over the head with the Princess Guard then," Reeve suggested.

"Reeve," she admonished.

"Sorry," he said. "But it's not that simple. Your actions are wonderful, but they're not news. Like I said, everyone sees Gilan everyday. He gets plenty of press, because what he says is news, even if it isn't true. If you're not going to say anything, then at least let me. I won't close him down, but I can at least set the record straight, can't I? At least let me do that."

Aeris hesitated a moment.

"I don't know," she said.

"Why not?" Reeve replied. "Someone's got to get your message across. If you're not going to do it then why not me?"

Aeris said nothing for a moment, fingering the stone that she still held in her hand. Finally she looked up at him.

"All right," she said. "You've got a right to say what you want too."

"Good," he said, not able to suppress a grin.

"Thank you Reeve."

His grin faded.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"I know. And I'm grateful. And you be careful too. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you either."

"Oh don't worry about me," Reeve said dismissively. "I'm not that easy to get rid of. I plan to be around for a long time, as long as you're here."

Aeris smiled.

"I'd like that."

Reeve just stood there for a moment, a serious expression on his face now.

"You still haven't changed your mind about..."

The smile faded from Aeris face as well, replaced by a troubled look.

"No," she said after a moment.

Reeve turned away. A month ago he had asked Aeris to be his wife. She had declined, telling him she loved him but she wasn't ready yet. It had been hard to accept, he had to admit. He kept trying to think of reasons why she would feel that way, but he couldn't come up with any good ones. Still, there didn't seem to be much he could do about it expect take her at her word.

"All right," he said. "I won't press you. But I'm telling you, I'll wait forever for you, if I have to."

Aeris looked at him sadly. She knew he would. Why did that trouble her so much?

For a moment they stood there in silence.

"All right, guess I better get at it," Reeve said, turning back toward her abruptly. "I'll have someone come by and repair the window. Just please, be careful."

"I will," Aeris replied, the smile returning to her face.

"All right," he said. He stepped forward and they kissed. Then he turned and, without another word, walked swiftly out of the church.

* * *

Yuffie sat cross legged on the grass. Beneath her the ground sloped gently up toward the imposing Da Chou figures carved in the mountainside behind her. The sun was low on the horizon, casting long shadows and turning the stone features on the figures above her a golden color, as if the entire mountainside was made of that precious metal. The mountains of Da Chou were truly and awe inspiring sight, especially at sunset.

But Yuffie was not here to take in the sights. Her eyes were closed, and she was facing away from the figures. He elbows rested comfortably against her sides, with each hand extended outward. In the palm of each of her hands she held a glowing green materia.

She wasn't moving, but lines of concentration were etched on her face. She had been sitting immobile like this for many minutes, first clearing her mind, using all the techniques she knew to filter out all the distractions around her, then to focus on the materia. She could feel the warmth of them in her hands, though she ignored it. But she did not ignore the feeling of power building up inside them. No, that she nurtured, that she fed with her mind, doing all in her power to make it grow, make it strong.

The materia had been getting brighter for some time now, and she could tell they were near release. Just a little bit more. She tried to focus her mind even more sharply, blocking out all else in one final effort. She almost had it, she knew she did!

And then she felt the power pour out of the materia. Immediately she opened her eyes to see a flash of fire rake across the grass not far from where she sat.

A moment later, as quickly as it had come, it faded away.

"Damn!" Yuffie exclaimed in frustration.

A subtle change in the shadows made her twist around. She immediately recognized the man who was just a few feet away from her, slowly walking toward her.

"Reno!" she snapped.

"Hey pest," he said with his usual smirk.

"What are you doing here?" she said, hopping to her feet.

Reno twirled his nightstick idly in his hand then laid it to rest across his shoulder.

"Just happened to be in the neighborhood," he replied. "I heard a new bar opened up in town."

"You mean the Silver Dragon?" she said. "It's a restaurant, not a bar."

"They serve drinks, don't they?" he pointed out.

Yuffie just looked at him, realizing immediately there wasn't any point in arguing about it. It was an argument she couldn't possibly win.

"If you're planning on going there I hope you brought plenty of gil with you," she said. "It's very expensive."

Reno shrugged.

"I'm the head of the Turks," he reminded her. "I've got plenty of gil to burn. We've been doing quite well lately, thank you very much."

"So you've told me MANY times," she commented. "But how did you get a reservation? I've heard that they're booked up for months. It's the 'in' place to be in Wutai."

"Well," Reno replied, tapping his nightstick on his shoulder. "I don't exactly have one."

Yuffie's eyebrows raised.

"And just how do you expect to get in then?" she questioned. "You're certainly not going to manage it with your charm."

"That's what I like about you," be observed. "You've always got a kind word for everyone."

"I do try," Yuffie replied with a gracious smile.

"As for how I'm going to get in...I was hoping you could help me out in that regard."

Yuffie stared at him for a moment.

"After all, I'm sure the daughter of the Lord of Wutai wouldn't have to worry about anything so mundane as a reservation," he continued.

It took Yuffie a moment to digest this. She rested her hands against her hips.

"And what makes you think I have any inclination whatsoever to accompany you?" she asked.

"Well, it would be a sacrifice on my part," he replied. "But I would think the advantages to you would be obvious. To be seen at the 'in' place in Wutai, as you so succinctly put it, with someone as prestigious as the head of the Turks, a man know the world over for his charm and grace. I would think that any girl would jump at the chance."

Yuffie just shook her head.

"You know Reno, with that swelled head of yours, its a wonder you can fit through the door of ANY building. I think I'll pass."

Reno gave her a look.

"Pass? Why would you want to do that? You'd rather sit here playing with your materia?"

"I wasn't playing," she retorted. "I was experimenting. I was trying to use two materia at the same time."

"Huh?"

She held up her hands, showing him the materia.

"I have an ice and a fire materia. I was trying to cast them both at once."

"Why would you want to do that?" he questioned.

"Just because I can!" she exclaimed. If he wasn't sharp enough to realize the benefits of using two materia at once, she wasn't about to explain it to him.

"But nobody can do that," he stated.

"How do you know?" she replied.

"Well, no one's ever done it," he said doubtfully.

"Just because no one's done it before doesn't mean it's not possible," she replied. "I'm close to doing it. I can feel it."

Reno just gave her a skeptical look.

"It's true!" she stated.

"How long have you been trying?" he countered.

"Today? A few hours. But I've been working on it for months. If I can pull it off, I'll be famous. No one else can do that."

"Good for you," Reno said, obviously not very impressed. "But you can do that anytime. C'mon Yuf, I really need your help here."

"All the more reason for me to say no," she replied.

He growled.

"I can't believe you won't help me out here," he protested. "Especially after all the things I've done for you."

Yuffie eyebrows shot up.

"All the things you've done for me?" she exclaimed. "What did you ever do for me?"

Reno glared at her.

"My, how quickly we forget. I've only saved your life about a dozen times."

"You didn't save my life," she countered. "I could've gotten out of all those situations without anyone's help."

"I did too save your life," he retorted. "You even admitted it once."

"I only told you that to lull you into a false sense of security so I could steal your gil," she replied with a smile.

"What about the time you got me thrown in jail for entering your father's garden? You owe me for that. And I didn't even fry you with my nightstick when I got out."

Yuffie still looked unimpressed.

"And afterwards I convinced my father to hire you as a mercenary at a very lucrative rate of pay," she reminded him.

Reno stared at her for a moment. He couldn't think of any other logical reasons to convince her to come, so he did what came natural, he resorted to whining.

"C'mon," he pleaded.

Yuffie dropped her materia back in her pouch and folded her arms across her chest.

"What's in it for me?" she demanded.

Reno paused for a moment.

"You mean besides getting to be seen with me?" he questioned.

Yuffie didn't even deign to reply to that.

"You get a free meal out of it," he suggested.

Yuffie considered that.

"And you get to piss off your old man," he continued. "I'm sure he won't be pleased to hear you went out with me."

Yuffie didn't reply for a moment. She had to admit that argument had merit. Godo knew what Reno was like, and after seeing them together a few times he had told her exactly what he thought of the idea of her having anything at all to do with him. She was on better terms with her father since she had almost been killed by Vernon, but that still didn't mean that her rebellious side was gone for good. It might be worthwhile to go along just to see the look on her old man's face.

She sighed.

"Well, I suppose."

"Really?" Reno said, surprised.

"Yeah," she said. "As long as you're paying."

"Uh huh."

"And I can have anything I want."

"Fine."

"And you don't call me pest."

"Okay pest," he agreed.

She gave him a look.

"Pick you up at seven?" he questioned.

"Make it eight," she replied. "Seven wouldn't be fashionably late enough. And I hope you have something decent to wear. They do have a dress code you know."

"Of course I know. I am wearing a suit," he pointed out.

Yuffie eyed his clothing with obvious disdain.

"Yeah, except that I heard you actually have to button that top button there and tie that tie properly. And I don't know whether it's actually true, but rumor has it that they even expect you to keep you shirt tucked in, hard as that may be to believe."

"Hey, I know how to get dressed up," he responded. "You just wait and see. I'll look so sharp you'll have to fight to keep all the other girls away from me."

"Yeah right," she replied.

"So eight o'clock then?"

"Yes," she said.

Reno nodded.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you then."

He turned and started to walk away.

"Don't be late," she said.

"Oh I won't be," he replied, turning to look at her again. "And I hope you've got a nice dress stored away in your closet somewhere. They've got a dress code for women too, you know."

He turned and strode off toward the town. Yuffie looked down at the tank top, shorts and sneakers she was wearing. When she looked up again there was true fear in her eyes.

"A dress?" she blurted out.

* * *

It was dark. Cloud lifted his head slowly, looking around. The window could clearly be made out, faint light seeping into the room through it. Enough for him to make out the familiar objects of the furniture that surrounded his bed. For some reason he felt puzzled. Something had happened. Something had woken him up. But what?

He had heard something. Hadn't he? He turned to see the dark form of Tifa beside him. She was on her side, facing away from him, her dark hair spilling out on the blanket between them. He smiled.

She moaned.

He frowned, concern etched on his face. He was fully awake now. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. She flinched back and moaned again. He could feel her body trembling in the second they had been in contact.

"Tifa?" he said tentatively.

She did not respond. Her hand twitched convulsively, as if pushing something away. She moaned again, then spoke. It wasn't clear, but he thought she said the word 'no'.

"Tifa!" he said, more firmly. He rolled over and grabbed hold of her.

She jerked in his arms, again trying to pull away, but this time he had her firmly. She was shivering, but not from cold. In fact, her nightgown was soaked in sweat. She moved convulsively in his arms and cried out again, quite clearly this time.

"No!"

"Tifa, wake up!" he exclaimed.

Her eyes opened. For a moment more she struggled against him. He could hear her breath coming in short gasps. Then suddenly she stopped, finally realizing where she was, and just as quickly she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her.

"Oh Cloud," she managed to say. The words came out as an anguished cry.

She clutched him tightly, her arms pulling him so close that she could have given Barret a lesson in hugs. Cloud could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Her body was still trembling. For a long time they said nothing at all, just lay there with their arms around one another, his hand slowly stroking the back of her head, trying to soothe her. Gradually her pounding heart slowed, her breathing became more regular. When Cloud thought she had calmed down enough, he spoke again

"Was it another dream," he hesitated a moment, "about the baby?"

She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. She nodded. She was resting her head on his chest, facing the window. He couldn't see the anguish in her eyes. But he didn't really have to. He pulled her tightly to him.

"The same thing?"

"Uh huh," she said.

For a long time they were silent. His hand slid down and ran along the thin fabric that covered her stomach. How long had she been having nightmares about this now? Months? It had been rare at first, but it had become much more frequent since they had found out that Tifa was pregnant. It had been over a year since they had defeated Jinn, had locked Jenova up on it's home planet, had removed the last threat of it's return. He had thought they were finally done with it. That they could finally put Jenova behind them.

Yet somehow things weren't turning out that way. Jenova was gone, was no longer a threat, but the effects lingered on. Jinn had planted a seed in their minds with his predictions. They hadn't been true. Cloud was sure of it. Red had reassured him over and over. Aeris had told them it had all been a lie. When asked, every one of them said it was nonsense. But still it was obvious the doubts lingered, especially for Tifa. He wasn't sure why, maybe because of what had happened to her. Perhaps Jinn had made a stronger connection with her because it had been her mind he had violated.

Damn Jinn! He was dead. They had beaten him. Or Sephiroth had. In either case he was gone, he was no longer a threat. They should be at peace. They certainly shouldn't have to worry about someone who had died on a planet millions of miles away.

But they did. Somehow Jinn was still affecting them, even after his death, even across all this distance. And what could be done about it? Cloud had no idea how to fight this kind of battle. Give him an opponent in front of him and room to swing his sword and he would stand up against anyone, but what could he do to help Tifa now? How could he fight something that was only in her mind?

And it was all his fault. He hadn't been able to help Tifa on Grouchoon, he hadn't been able to stop Jinn from entering her mind, he hadn't been able to defeat Jinn before he showed them those visions. Even before that he had gone wrong. Tifa wouldn't even have to worry about this in the first place if he hadn't let them infuse him with Jenova cells.

"I'm sorry," he said.

She turned around to look at him.

"What for?"

He shrugged.

"For not being able to help you," he replied bitterly. "For letting Jinn do what he did to you. For having these damn Jenova cells inside me in the first place."

She lifted herself up until she was face to face with him.

"No," she said. "Please don't blame yourself Cloud. There was nothing you could have done about any of that. It's just a dream. It's just a nasty stupid dream. I'm just letting my silly imagination get the better of me. I know nothing is going to happen to our baby."

Even in the dim light he could see her eyes. In spite of her reassurances he could see a shade of sadness there. He hated that. More than anything in the world he wanted her to be happy. He pulled her to him and kissed her. Slowly, longingly, hoping that somehow that simple act would wipe away all her fears, would make the world all better again. That might not be true, but when their lips parted the sadness in her eyes was gone.

"You just wait and see," he said, patting her stomach. "Our little Cloud is going to be perfect."

A hint of a smile flickered on her face.

"You mean our little Tifa," she responded.

Cloud gave her a look but said nothing, satisfied that she seemed to be feeling better. He pulled himself up, until his back was against the headboard. She turned over, lying on top of him with her back to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I know I shouldn't worry so much," she said more seriously. "I know Red said the Jenova cells weren't inheritable. I know Jinn was just trying to mess with our minds. I'll try to be strong. I'll try not to think about it."

"It's alright," he replied. "It was just a dream. You can't help what you dream about."

She sighed once again and nodded. For a moment they were silent again.

"Aeris is having trouble in Ifalnia," she said slowly.

Cloud did not reply at first. He already knew what was going on in Ifalnia. Reeve had been in touch with him quite a bit lately to discuss it. But he hadn't mentioned that to Tifa. He didn't want her to worry about it. He should have known she would have gotten the news from Aeris.

"Yeah, Reeve mentioned something about that to me," he said. "The Church of Humanity, I think he called it."

"They've been making trouble," Tifa went on. "Saying all kinds of nasty things about the Cetra. Saying how they were evil and created Jenova on purpose and had really been trying to enslave the human race themselves."

She turned her head to look at him.

"I know it's nonsense, I know we've been saying that Jinn's visions were not true, but it does seem like a strange coincidence."

They had all shared the visions Jinn has showed them. They all knew that Jinn had shown Aeris the people turning against her because of her Cetra heritage.

"I suppose," Cloud said slowly. He didn't like the turn this conversation had suddenly taken, just when she seemed to have snapped out of it. "But that's not really much of a stretch to make a prediction like that. Given human nature, and our suspicion of anything different, even I probably would have been able to predict that some people might not like the idea of Ifalnia."

Tifa nodded slowly without replying.

"Besides," Cloud continued. "He also predicted that Aeris would dump Reeve, and I don't see that happening."

The way Tifa just turned away from him made him frown.

"What?"

For a moment she didn't reply.

"I'm sorry, I should have told you, but she asked me not to mention it," she said slowly.

"Mention what?" he said, with some urgency in his voice, understandably.

She turned to look at him again.

"He asked her to marry him, and she turned him down."

"What?" Cloud said. This was news to him.

"She told him she wasn't ready," Tifa continued.

Cloud didn't know what to say. This was certainly a surprise. He would have never thought Aeris would say no if Reeve asked her to marry him. They certainly seemed in love enough to him. But Aeris had always been the most unpredictable of all of them.

"Well," he said slowly. "You know Aeris. She's always walked to the beat of her own drummer. At least it was only 'I'm not ready'. That's certainly better than 'Go away you pathetic slob.'"

Tifa gave him a look.

"You think Reeve's a pathetic slob?"

"Of course not!" he replied. "I was just using that as an example. It still doesn't mean that she has any intention of breaking up with him."

Tifa thought about that for a moment.

"I suppose," she said doubtfully.

"How did Reeve take it?" he questioned.

"I don't really know," she replied. "I've only heard Aeris version of it. I would think he'd be pretty unhappy about it, considering all that's happened and how he obviously feels about her. He didn't say anything to you?"

Cloud shook his head.

"No, but now that you mention it, he has seemed a little bit down for quite some time now. I just figured he was overworked."

Tifa nodded.

"I hope he's okay," she said.

Cloud did not reply. There really wasn't much he could say.

"I'm sure she'll come around, eventually," Tifa said, almost as if to herself.

"I hope so," he replied. He had started to think so much in terms of Aeris and Reeve being a couple that he really couldn't picture it any other way anymore.

"But still, that doesn't prove anything," Cloud continued, getting back to the matter at hand. "There was another prediction Jinn made. Remember? Mine. And I can tell you honestly that I have had no inclination whatsoever to chop you up into little pieces."

Tifa smiled.

"That's very reassuring."

He looked straight into her eyes.

"I mean it," he said.

She nodded and rested her head against his chest once more.

"Maybe we should go pay them a visit," she said.

"Reeve and Aeris?" he questioned.

She nodded.

"It's been a while."

Cloud nodded. They hadn't seen Aeris or Reeve in a couple of months. It might be nice to pay their old friends a visit again, especially if it would cheer Tifa up.

"Sure," he said. "Why not."

He ran his hand slowly through her hair.

"We'll get through this, no matter what happens," he continued. "We always have." His hand locked on hers. "And we always will, as long as we're together."

She looked at him again and smiled, then lowered her head once more.

"As long as we're together," she repeated softly.


	2. A Night on the Town

CHAPTER II

A NIGHT ON THE TOWN

"I'm tired."

Vincent swung around, his red eyes falling upon Elena. They stood in the middle of the forest, on a slope that varied from gentle to steep. They had been climbing it steadily for almost an hour now. It was nearly noon, and the sun was almost directly overhead. Although the trees provided some shade from the sun, they also blocked out the refreshing breeze the blew in gusts from the south. As a result it was opressively hot. Perspiration stained Elena's shirt and beaded on her forehead.

She looked at Vincent. Although he had been exposed to the elements as much as she, he seemed completely unaffected. He was not sweating, in fact, seemed not the least bit discomforted. This only caused Elena to be even more annoyed. If he was going to drag her out here in this heat, the least he could do was suffer along with her.

"It's not much farther," Vincent stated. He nodded ahead, then turned around and continued walking.

Elena just stood there for a moment glaring at him. Vincent had made great strides since she had known him, and especially since they had returned from Grouchoon, but there were still plenty of times when he fell back into his old ways. It would have been nice if he had suggested they stop to rest. She hadn't really been asking for that, but she had expected at least a small show of sympathy. Even an 'I know how you feel' would have sufficed. Even though she now drew some emotion out of him on occasion, which was a tremendous improvement over the old Vincent, there was still plenty of times when he was cold and mysterious. Dammit, he hadn't even told her why he was dragging her up here in the first place!

She shook her head. She knew there was no use obsessing over this. Vincent was Vincent. She knew going in what she was in for. No matter what anyone did, he wasn't going to turn around in one day. She supposed she should be happy with the progress he had made so far.

He had gotten quite a ways ahead of her now. He hadn't turned around to see if she was following. She took a deep breath and started after him. She had seen the worst of him and they had gotten through it. She didn't want to turn back now. Both in this trip and their relationship.

As they progressed up the slope the conifers closed in around them. Usually trees weren't something that Elena took much notice of. Normally she wasn't one to go traipsing around in the woods at all, actually. But being surrounded by them now she couldn't help but notice how huge these were. They were easily bigger than any trees she had ever seen before. The trunks were massive, some of them perhaps twenty meters in circumference. Large enough to carve a quite comfortable home in, Elena thought. Though why that particular thought came to her she had no idea. They actually reminded Elena more of the pillars that held up the plates in Midgar than anything else. They were bare of branches for a good 20 meters. After that the huge branches swept out around them, high overhead, some of them as large as trees in their own right. The thick intertwining of branches and blanket of green pine needles almost completely blocked out the sunlight here, creating a perpetual twilight. Vincent wasn't far ahead of her, but still he blended with the shadows so well that she had a hard time making him out. There wasn't much ground vegetation. A carpet of needles lay beneath their feet instead, with only a few small green plants struggling up in the half light. The needles crunched softly beneath Elena's feet as she walked. Ahead of her Vincent walked in complete silence. Just for the hell of it she tried to trend as lightly as she could, to walk as soundlessly as he did. It only took her a few moments trying to give up, realizing it was impossible. Impossible at least, for a normal human being.

Abruptly the ground leveled out in front of them. Elena silently thanked the gods that the climbing was at least temporarily over. She looked up and saw the forest brightening ahead. At the same time she became aware of a dull rumble. It took her but a moment to recognize the sound as fast moving water.

She could see Vincent clearly now. He had emerged from the shadows of the forest, and stood starkly outlined in bright sunshine. Beyond him she could see blue sky.

As she approached she saw the reason the forest abruptly ended. He stood at the edge of a precipice. The ground dropped off in front of him as if rent by a knife. She stepped out into the sunlight herself, coming up nearly beside Vincent, who stood but a step from the abyss, much closer than seemed prudent to her. She looked down and her eyes widened in awe.

A thousand feet below them lay an almost circular bowl of crystal clear water. The mountains rose up around it, almost completely surrounding it except for a narrow valley at the southern end. Here the water gathered into a fast moving river, just a thin ribbon from this distance, that quickly disappeared from sight to the south. Yet even the tremendous view of the lake below was not what caught her eye the most. Just a short distance away to their right, a huge waterfall cascaded down the face of the mountain. The roar of it was loud in her ears now, and they were so close she could feel the light touch of the spray from it on her face. For a long time she just stood there in silence, staring at the water pouring down the face of the cliff, stunned by the beauty and sheer power of it. She had never seen anything like it before in her life.

And for a long time Vincent remained unmoving, staring at the waterfall as well. She wondered what thoughts were going through his head. It was obvious the beauty of the scene was not lost on him. It was obvious he had brought her up here for the express purpose of sharing it with her. Her admiration for him immediately increased. Perhaps there was hope for him after all.

"It's beautiful," she called out, wanting to be heard above the roar of the water.

He turned to look at her. He obviously wanted her to come up beside him, but she motioned for him to come to her, trying to make it apparent without words that she wasn't comfortable getting any closer to the edge. It appeared she got through to him, for, with a slight nod of his head, he strode over to her.

"We are a little early," he said. "It is most beautiful at sunset, with the fading light glinting off the water like sparks."

He looked up at the sky, half filled with high floating wispy clouds. It was perhaps an hour or two from nightfall.

"But perhaps the sun will be obscured by then," he finished.

"It doesn't matter," she said, stepping closer and taking his hand. "I'm glad you brought me up here anyway. How did you find this place?"

Vincent shrugged.

"Just sort of blundered upon it," he replied. "I used to come here often."

Elena said nothing, looking at the waterfall. She had seen it once or twice before. She had flown over this area a couple of times in the past. But most of the time when she was in an aircraft she was there on business, and wasn't really interested in looking at the scenery. And anyway, that had been thousands of feet overhead, and everything on the ground below had been far away, almost abstract. But now she was just a few hundred feet from the falls. She could feel the spray and sense the power of the water from the vibration beneath her feet. Here, instead of being abstract, it was larger than life.

Sugar Mountain Falls, she knew, was it's official name. But she also knew Vincent and all his friends referred to it as something else. To them it was Lucrecia's falls.

She glanced at Vincent, who was staring out into the space in front of them. In all the time she had known him, he hadn't said much about Lucrecia. She knew about his parents and siblings, but much of the part of his life he had spent with Hojo and Lucrecia was still a mystery to her.

"Do you still think about her?" she asked slowly.

For a moment Vincent did not reply, did not even move. Then he turned toward her.

"Think of who?" he questioned.

Elena gave an almost apologetic nod of her head.

"Lucrecia," she said.

As far as Elena knew, Vincent hadn't seen or heard from Lucrecia in almost two years. Not since shortly after Aeris had been resurrected. But they all knew how he once felt about her. He had loved her, had literally suffered a fate worse than death for her. Can that kind of love ever be truly extinguished? Vincent was often alone. Aside from his periodic transformations, he seemed to have a compelling need to spend time by himself, to get away from everyone. She had seen other people like that. Was like that herself on occasion. But no one seemed to have such an absolute need to do so as Vincent. Was this where he went when he wanted to be alone? Did he often come here, to look at the beautiful falls, and to think about her? Was it possible he had even seen her here?

"Sometimes," he said slowly. His head turned toward her. A gust of wind blew his dark hair across his face, but it didn't hide the penetrating look in his eyes.

"Lucrecia will always be a part of me," he said, as if divining her thoughts. "Just as my sister Victoria will always be a part of me. But that's all in the past. It was part of a different age, a different me. There's no need to be jealous."

Elena turned her head away, pretending to look out over the valley, but it was really to try to hide her slight embarrassment. She knew she shouldn't be jealous, after all they had been through, after he told her he loved her. She just wasn't very good at hiding her feelings.

Vincent came up beside her, so suddenly it startled her.

"People change," he said. "I found that out once I was reunited with Lucrecia. We couldn't rekindle the feelings we had once had for one another. There was a wall between us, one neither one of us knew how to penetrate. I originally blamed it on Hojo. I thought his experiments had taken away my ability to feel like a human being again. But then I met you, and I realized that wasn't true. I realized that I really could still love someone, that my emotions hadn't been completely stripped away by Hojo. As much as I care for Lucrecia, it wasn't her who made me realize that. It was you."

Elena did not react for a moment, just stood there basking in the warmth those words made her feel. Not just because it felt good to hear him say something like that, but because she knew it was true.

She reached out to take his hand, but he suddenly spun around, away from her. She turned as well, startled again by his sudden movement. The turn brought the forest behind them into view. She gasped in surprise when she saw what had caused Vincent's reaction. A man was coming out of the woods just a few feet away.

He worn dark brown trousers and shirt. Both were thickly stained and dirty. The left knee of his pants was torn open, exposing a bloody patch of skin. He was walking toward them with an irregular gait, weaving and stumbling, seemingly barely able to stay on his feet. His sleeves were rolled up, his arms exposed, and Elena could see that they were as dirty as his clothing, and covered with scratches as well, as if he had been running heedlessly through the forest. His hair was a tangled mass. She thought it was brown, but she couldn't really tell with all the dirt and sweat covering it. His face looked as bad as his arms, covered with sweat and grime. The thing that caught her attention most, however, and which caused her to give a gasp of surprise, was the fierce glow that emanated from his brown eyes.

He was coming toward them, but he really didn't seem to be looking at them. He really didn't seem to be looking at anything at all. His eyes roved around constantly, but didn't seem to be focusing on anything. It was almost as if her were stumbling blindly along, not having any idea at all where he was going.

As if they needed any more confirmation that there was something seriously wrong with this man, he suddenly started to give out a gasping wheezing sound. At first Elena thought the man was trying to say something, but after a moment she began to doubt that. It didn't sound like language at all. It sounded like the gasping of a dying man.

Vincent had drawn his gun as he had turned. Now Elena saw him slowly lower his arm.

The man stumbled closer, suddenly turning and heading straight for the cliff edge. Vincent stepped forward and grabbed hold of him. Elena thought the man was oblivious to his surroundings, but Vincent's grabbing him provoked an immediate response. The man cried out and pulled away, so quickly that even Vincent was taken by surprise. The man stumbled away, heading right for the cliff once again, but fortunately fell to the ground before he could reach the edge.

Vincent stooped down beside him, not touching him this time. Elena came up beside him, her face filled with concern. The man was lying on the ground, his arms and legs moving spasmodically, but he did not seem to have any notion as to how to get himself back on his feet again, if he was even aware that he wasn't. He continued making the strange sounds. For some reason those sounds were more unnerving to Elena than anything else.

"What's wrong with him?" she questioned. She didn't want to look at the man, but she couldn't help herself. She had seen mako eyes before. She had seen members of SOLDIER on occasion, and both Cloud and Tifa had them. But still it was such a rare thing to see these days. And she didn't remember ever seeing them glow so brightly. She couldn't help but think there was some sort of connection between the man's eyes and the illness he appeared to be suffering from.

"I'm not sure," Vincent said slowly. "I think..."

Elena bent down closer. The man's hand brushed against her, and she pulled back. His touch alone made her shudder.

"I think I've seen something like this once before," Vincent continued. "After Cloud gave Sephiroth the black materia he disappeared. We found him again a few days later in Mideel, and the symptoms he had were almost identical to this."

Vincent stood up.

"He was suffering from mako poisoning."

Elena looked helplessly back and fourth between Vincent and the man on the ground. Vincent seemed to think what he had just said was very important, and it probably was, but right now Elena wasn't thinking about that.

"We've got to get him to a doctor," she said.

* * *

"Miss Yuffie should be down momentarily. Would you like some refreshment while you're waiting?" Shake asked.

"Sure shorty," Reno replied. "Get me something that's got a little kick to it."

Shake did not appear rankled by Reno's remark. Of course, since he had been wearing a frown of displeasure from the moment Reno walked in the door, that didn't mean much.

"Very good," Shake replied. He motioned toward a couch placed along the wall under a large mural of samurai in battle. "Please make yourself comfortable."

They stood in the reception hall of the Lord of Wutai's new home, the Imperial Palace. Construction had just finished on it a month ago. Now that Wutai had regained some of it's former prestige, had indeed become a major economic center, Godo had decided that his old home was no longer suitable for a man of his stature. The place was huge, more than twice the size of Godo's old abode, and rivaled the Pagoda of the God's in square footage, if not in height. Built at the foot of Da Chao, it was high enough to see and be seen from the entire town. This was the first time Reno had been in it, and he had to admit he was impressed. The place was exquisitely furnished. As a man with an eye for luxurious items, it was obvious to Reno that no expense had been spared in the construction of the palace. The furniture was in a classic Wutai style, obviously antiques, and just as obviously to Reno's discerning eye, authentic. The parquet floor, waxed to a brilliant sheen, was covered in the center with a frilled throw rug on which was embroidered tradition Wutai art. A couch and wooden coffee table with delicately carved figures around the base stood on the rug. Hand painted vases as tall as Reno stood like sentries on either side of the couch. Reno walked over to one and inspected it more closely.

Shake, who was almost out the door, glanced back.

"And please don't touch anything," he added hastily before disappearing out the door.

Reno did not reply, his roguish smile saying all that needed to be said. If they were worried he was going to break something, he certainly wasn't going to say anything that might ease their mind.

Besides, if he identified the period of manufacture correctly, the vase was over a thousand years old. Even he had to respect that.

He looked around to make sure Shake was gone, then sat down on the couch. He looked at his watch. He had arrived just a few minutes after eight. He had hardly eaten all day, saving his appetite for the anticipated pleasures awaiting him at the restaurant. He was hungry. He hoped Yuffie didn't keep him waiting long.

Shake came back a short time later with Reno's drink. He looked around for a moment, apparently to make sure Reno hadn't been causing any mischief. He handed the Turk his drink, then turned around again and disappeared as fast as he had come. Reno sat back in his chair, amused by the fact that, though Shake obviously didn't like him, there was absolutely nothing in the world the man could do about it.

But Reno's amusement did not last. It was over an hour later that Yuffie finally made her appearance. By that time he was fuming, fidgeting in his seat and fiddling with his nightstick. He knew it didn't take even her this long to get ready. He knew she was just yanking his chain. Still, by the time she showed up his nerves were frayed, his stomach was growling loud enough to wake the dead, and visions of chucking the entire restaurant idea altogether and just using his nightstick to barbecue her instead were dancing in his head.

He didn't see her approach. She came up behind him, and the first he knew that she was there was when she spoke.

"You ready?"

He got to his feet, hastily spinning around to confront her. But at the sight of her his anger vanished in a flash.

She was wearing a dark green floor length gown. Sleeveless and, he couldn't help but notice, extremely form fitting. One side was slit up to her thigh, exposing her right leg as she stood in front of him. The dress had an almost metallic sheen to it, and sparkled in the light whenever she moved. A thin tiara replaced her usual headband. The same color as her dress, a single brilliant sapphire sparkled in the center of it. Long white gloves completed the look of elegance, a look so foreign to Yuffie that all Reno could do was stare. This was a Yuffie he had never seen. This was a Yuffie he had never imagined!

For a moment they just looked at one another.

"I'm shocked," she said, looking over the immaculate and very expensive tux he was wearing. "You don't look like a slob."

"I'm shocked," he replied. "You look like a lady."

She made a face, then smiled and walked over to him.

"Shall we go?" she said pleasantly.

"Indeed," he replied, taking her arm. He had expected he'd get a night at a nice restaurant, and perhaps have some innocent fun with Yuffie as well, hopefully at her expense. He had known Yuffie for a long time now, and he had always been somewhat amused with their relationship. He suspected she had a 'thing' for him. Perfectly understandable. Most women did. And he suspected she thought he felt the same way about her. He wasn't about to dissuade her, or any girl, for that matter, from that belief. But he had never felt that strong an attraction to Yuffie. Sure, he had kissed her once, but that had just been as much to piss her off as anything else. He had always thought of her as a kid, and the way she dressed and acted only reinforced that opinion. But he had to admit she sure didn't look like one now. The soft skin of her arm against his, the curve of her dress as he looked down at her, all bespoke of the woman he hadn't noticed she had become. As they walked out the door, his trademark smirk grew wider still. Perhaps this was going to be a more interesting night than he had suspected.

The restaurant was just down the street from the palace. Less than a block away. It was a warm night, the moon bright in the sky. It took them only a few minutes walking along the lantern lit streets to arrive at their destination.

A crowd was gathered at the front of the restaurant. They bypassed it, of course, and walked right in. A few people shot a dark look at them, but it faded as soon as they recognized the daughter of the Lord of Wutai.

Inside the maître de came over to them immediately.

"Good evening, Miss Yuffie," he said formally. "You're looking lovely this evening. We have a table ready for you over by the fountain. I hope it's to your liking."

"Thank you," Yuffie replied.

The maître de led them through the room to an empty table beside a sparkling fountain located in the very center of the room. Reno could tell that all eyes were upon the two of them as they sat down, and he couldn't have loved it more.

Menus were already on the table. Reno picked his up and looked through it slowly. He didn't have much time to look it over, however, when the waiter appeared.

"Good evening," the man said pleasantly. "Would you like something to drink while you are deciding on your meal?"

"Certainly," Reno replied. "I'll have a scotch on the rocks."

"And for the lady?" the waiter said.

"A marguerita please," Yuffie responded.

The waiter nodded and walked away. Reno slowly looked around, ignoring the looks they were getting from the curious crowd.

"They certainly went all out with this place," he said. "I have to admit, I'm impressed."

"This is only the beginning," Yuffie declared. "There's two more restaurants being built. Both of them are going to put this place to shame."

Reno raised an eyebrow. He knew how Yuffie felt about Wutai. He suspected she couldn't be more pleased with how well the town was doing these days. He also suspected that she wouldn't hesitate to embellish the truth a bit.

"I'm sure you're very proud of Wutai," he said. "But this place isn't a two bit tourist trap anymore, you don't have to be a walking travel brochure for it."

Yuffie looked down at her menu.

"True," she replied. "And you don't have to be an idiot, but that doesn't seem to stop you from acting like one."

"Oh nice," he replied. "Not wasting any time with the barbs, eh? I guess I should have know better than to pick on your precious town."

"Yes you should have," she replied.

They were interrupted as the waiter brought them their drinks.

"Have you decided what you'll be having?" he asked as he set them down.

"Yes, I'll have the Garuda steak," Yuffie stated.

"Excellent choice, madam," the waiter said pleasantly. "How would you like that cooked?"

"Medium well."

"And for the gentleman?"

Reno looked over the menu once again. He couldn't help but notice that Garuda steak was the most expensive item on the menu. But that hardly surprised him.

"I'll have the same," he said. "Make mine rare."

"Very well," the waiter said. He took the menus and walked off once again.

"So where did you get that dress?" Reno questioned. "I have to admit you surprised me. I didn't think you had anything like that in your wardrobe. What, was that buried under your sneakers somewhere?"

"I'll have you know that I have quite a few dresses," she replied. "I've had to go to a few state functions in my time. You haven't seen me in one because I don't waste my time wearing them unless it's for something important."

"So you think this date tonight is important?" he questioned. "I'm flattered."

"Don't be," she replied. "I'm only here for the food."

"I'm sure you are," Reno stated. He slowly looked around the room. The place was full, as he had expected, though it seemed there were surprisingly few couples. Most of the tables had small groups of at least four people, some even more. In one corner two tables had been pushed together to accommodate a party of nine. Most of the people were middle aged businessmen. Yuffie was easily the youngest female there, and Reno suspected he might also be the youngest male. Again, not really surprising. The place was so expensive and so in demand, that only a man, or woman, with a great deal of pull could get a reservation. Reno thought that the people he was looking at were the CEO's and upper management of the most prominent companies here in Wutai. It felt good to be included.

Most of the people in the room were also natives of Wutai. Besides himself, he saw only one other table that was an exception to that rule. To their left, at a table that also stood beside the fountain, was a group of four men in grey suits. From their features they were obviously not Wutai natives. It seemed odd enough for him to mention it to Yuffie.

"Do you know who those guys are?" he questioned.

The table he was referring to was behind her back. She turned for a moment and glanced at them.

"Some businessmen," Yuffie replied, obviously not much interested. "Represent a company called Van..Vanguard, I think it was. They had a big meeting with Godo yesterday. They kept him for hours. Apparently they have big plans for Wutai, though I'm not sure Godo was all that interested."

"Why wouldn't he be?" Reno questioned.

"He thinks we've been doing fine on our own," she replied. "He's not sure he wants some big company to come in here and start making demands. I didn't tell him, of course, but I happen to agree with him. We don't need some outsiders coming in here to tell us the future of Wutai. We've got our own vision."

Reno didn't reply. Vanguard. That sounded vaguely familiar. He was sure he'd heard it before somewhere. It took a moment, but it did come to him. Elena had mentioned it to him back at headquarters in Junon. They had bought out the Junon Power Company, the successor to Shinra in Junon that had been losing money since it's inception.

Hmm, so they were here in Wutai too? Sounded like they had big plans. Maybe he should look into this when he got a chance. Not that it was any concern of his, or had anything to do with the Turks. But Reno had found out long ago that any piece of information, not matter how useless it might seem at the time, could come in handy someday. In the business world, information was power.

Their dinners came shortly afterward. The steaks were, of course, excellent. In Reno's opinion, the best he had ever had. The restaurant was certainly living up to his expectations. The liquor flowed freely as well, with both of them being rather liberal in their consumption of it. By the time they were finished, Reno was feeling quite well, and Yuffie seemed a bit tipsy, if not downright drunk. But Reno thought that was a good thing. Perhaps because of it, they actually had a fairly pleasant conversation.

Stepping out of the restaurant when they were done a light breeze sobered them up a bit. Reno looked around. The night was cool, but not unpleasant. Yuffie stood by his side, so close he the feel the warmth coming off her body. He looked at her again, her eyes sparkling, her dress glinting in the moonlight, and suddenly he realized he wasn't anxious to have this night end.

"Let's take a walk," he suggested.

She looked around, but did not seem surprised.

"Where to?" she asked.

He shrugged.

"Down that way," he pointed in the direction of the Pagoda of the Gods.

They walked farther down the road, into an area sheltered by trees. They stopped on a small wooden bridge overlooking a pond. The silvery forms of fish could be seen meandering just below the surface. Yuffie leaned against the railing and looked down.

"It's such a beautiful night," she said. "I love this kind of weather. The summer is too short around here."

"You mean there's actually something you don't like about Wutai?" Reno questioned.

Instead of replying Yuffie just looked thoughtful. Reno came up beside her and put his arm around her, looking down at the pond as well.

She turned to face him.

"You know, I kinda had a good time tonight," she said slowly. "You hardly acted like a jerk at all."

"Thanks a lot," he replied. "And you weren't much of a pest yourself."

"You promised you wouldn't call me that," she admonished.

"That was while we were in the restaurant," he countered. "That's over now."

She slid her arms up to his shoulders.

"So, does that mean the date's over too?" she asked.

He looked down into her eyes, glinting darkly in the dappled moonlight.

"Not at all," he replied.

He had both arms around her waist now. One of them slowly dropped lower.

Yuffie reached around and intercepted it, pulling it back up to it's former position.

"Bad boy," she said, though she did not seem annoyed. "You don't want to do that. Not with our little shadow watching."

Reno couldn't help but turn his head slightly, just enough to catch a glimpse of the dark figure that had been following them since leaving the restaurant, and now stood in the shadow of the trees, not far away. He was barely visible, but he hadn't escaped Reno's eye, nor Yuffies, obviously.

"So you noticed Godo's little spy as well," he stated.

"Of course," Yuffie replied.

Reno looked around casually.

"Shall we try to lose him?' he questioned.

Yuffie pondered that for a moment.

"It might be fun," she replied eventually.

With a grin Reno turned and the walked off the bridge.

"You know the area better than I," he said. "Which way?"

Yuffie looked around for a moment, then nodded her head to the right.

"The gardens surrounding the palace are over this way," she said. "Should be pretty easy to give him the slip there."

She led them down the road off to the right. The crossed a well lit street, then stopped at the head of a narrow path that led into an area surrounded by high shrubs and trees. She paused for a moment to slip off her high heels, then they plunged down the trail. It was much darker here, with only small covered footlights appearing periodically along the trail. The path turned to the left, and as soon as they turned the corner Yuffie grabbed hold of Reno's arm and pulled him into the woods. They ducked down behind some bushes and waited.

A figure walked by a few moments later. It was Shake, not that that was any surprise. He paused for just a moment to look around, then continued down the path. Seconds later, he was gone.

"This way," Yuffie said softly.

She led Reno farther into the woods. But a few moments later they came upon another trail. Yuffie turned left and followed it. They walked for a ways in silence. On their left another pond appeared, or perhaps it was the same one. Reno wasn't sure. Yuffie stopped underneath a large willow tree overhanging the pond, some of it's sweeping branches dipping down to touch the surface. She looked down the trail, but there was no one in sight.

"Now, where were we?" she questioned, slipping her arms up around his shoulders once again.

Reno looked at her for a moment, a bit surprised. He knew she liked him, but she had never acted so forward about it before. Perhaps it was the romantic atmosphere of the evening, or perhaps it was the liquor she had imbibed. Either way, he wasn't going to complain. Especially with the way she looked. He didn't think the atmosphere was affecting him, and he was certain the liquor wasn't. Nevertheless, he had to admit her lips had never looked more inviting.

His head drifted down toward hers, and a moment later he was kissing her.

She didn't resist, in fact, she pulled him closer, one of her hands slipping down behind him to rest on his rear end.

Their lips parted for a moment and Reno looked at her critically. He reached down and put his hand in his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Yuffie questioned.

"Making sure my wallet is still there," Reno replied.

She laughed softly.

"I'm not after that tonight," Yuffie replied coyly.

Reassured, Reno grinned and leaned closer.

"The way you like to goad your father, I'm surprised you didn't let his little spy see us making out," he said.

She merely smiled.

"I don't want to send him too far off the deep end," she replied. "Knowing how he feels about you, if he caught us doing this, he'd probably have you executed."

Reno's eyebrow rose. She was joking, right? But before he could question her anymore her lips were plastered against his once again. The smell of her perfume was in the air, the heat of her body warm against his own, making his temperature rise as well. Still, he couldn't help notice how exposed they were, here on the shore of the lake. He could see the lanterns along the road across the pond. Anyone passing there could see them. He liked to make out as much as anyone, and he really really didn't want to spoil the mood, but he also didn't want to pay for it with his life.

"Umm, could we find a more secluded spot?" he asked when they came up for air. "It's really kind of...open here."

"No one's going to see us," Yuffie replied confidently. She slowly began to unbutton the shirt of his tux.

"Don't rip it," he muttered.

She giggled.

"Don't worry, I'll be nice," she replied.

She pulled his shirt open. His arms encircled her again, their lips coming together once more, more forcefully this time. His arms were around her, and once again his hands slid down her back to rest comfortably below her waist.

Suddenly he heard a shout.

He pushed her away, spinning around, looking wildly for the source. It took him but a moment to realize the sound had come from across the pond, and in fact, was just the sound of some revelers and had nothing to do with them. Only a moment it took for him to realize this, then his head spun around again at a shout from Yuffie.

He hadn't pushed her away very hard, but she hadn't expected his sudden violent movement. Just as she was leaning forward, his shove caused her to lose her balance. She stumbled, her arms swinging wildly to try to keep her on her feet, but to no avail. She fell to the ground, then tumbled down the slope and into the water with a loud splash.

Reno just stared at her with his mouth open for a moment as she flailed around, then scrambled to her feet in knee deep water. She stood there, staring at him, her tiara askew, soaked to the skin, the water dripping from her hair and dress.

"You stupid JERK!" she screamed.

Still Reno said nothing. He was still in shock.

"Shake!" she yelled.

"Yuffie, I..." he stammered.

She stumbled out of the water, heading toward him with murder in he eye. He stepped back.

"It...it's your fault!" he snapped. "I wouldn't have been so paranoid if you hadn't started in with that execution stuff."

"My fault! My fault!" she blurted out, coming up right in front of him. "You are such a moron!"

She lunged forward and pushed him with all her might. He fell back on his rear end.

"I should have known something like this would happen!" she shouted. "Why I ever agreed to come along with you in the first place I'll never know. You're going to pay for this gown! You're going to pay for everything!'

Running footsteps interrupted her rant. Shake suddenly appeared on the path. He ran up beside her.

"Are you alright Miss Yuffie?" he exclaimed.

"No, I'm NOT alright!" Yuffie shouted. "I'll never be alright as long as I'm in the presence of this idiot! Take me home, Shake. Now!"

"Of course, Miss Yuffie," Shake said.

Grabbing hold of her hand, he started to walk away, but not before he cast Reno a self satisfied grin.

Reno just sat there. In spite of Yuffie's anger, he was trying hard not to laugh. He should have known that somehow the night would end up this way.

When they were gone he picked up his nightstick and got to his feet. For a moment he looked down the path in the direction Yuffie had disappeared. He was amused and yet a little disappointed at the same time. He had to admit she had gotten him hot under the collar, and he couldn't help but wonder where it would have all ended. Still, he wasn't too upset. After all she had done to him, there was some satisfaction in seeing her dripping wet. It might not make up for what might have been, but there were plenty of other fish in the sea.

He tapped his nightstick on his shoulder and started off jaughtily down the road. The Red Scorpion wasn't too far away, and there a blonde waitress there that got a sparkle in her eye every time he walked in.

* * *

Godo was finishing up some paperwork when he heard the commotion from the front foyer. He heard the sound of Yuffie's angry voice, and Shake trying to sooth her. He turned around as the sounds grew, and was facing the doorway when Yuffie walked in, her high heels in her hands, her dress dripping wet and leaving a trail of puddles behind her. For some reason, Godo was not in the least bit surprised.

"Have a nice time?' he questioned mildly.

The look on her face could have wilted a dragon.

"Oh shut up!"

* * *

**Authors note:** _Not long ago I got an email from Justin Smith with the suggestion that, among other things, and I quote, said; "This Materia also allows Cat to combine any two materia to create a new attack." In the first chapter of Shadows I had Yuffie attempting to use two materia at once. Although I consider these two ideas different enough to be independent, it is possible that subconsiously this email influenced me when coming up with that idea. I don't want anyone to think that I'm taking their ideas without giving them credit. Besides, it's almost impossible for me to remember every single plot idea everyone has ever sent me. With my lousy memory, it would be quite easy for someone to send me something and me to forget totally that they did, while blissfully thinking I came up with the idea myself. So, in order to avoid any possible confusion in the future, I'd like to ask you all NOT to send me anymore plot ideas. I know most of you are just trying to help, but the truth is, I consider coming up with plots to be part of a writers job and I'm not going to use anyone else's anyway. If you insist on sending one anyway, I'm putting a warning up right now, you will NOT get any credit for it if I somehow, by chance or otherwise, end up using it sometime in the future. I'm kinda sorry it has to be this way but I see no other way to prevent this from happening again. _

_Just wanted to make sure we all understood one another! _

_Frank_


	3. Mako Madness

CHAPTER III

MAKO MADNESS

Every time Tifa visited the City of the Ancients, or Ifalnia, as it was now called, she marveled at the changes. She looked around slowly as she and Cloud rode their chocobo's through the streets. The city had become so large that it could no longer be contained underground. Besides the difficulty of expanding an underground cavern, and despite the uniqueness of the Cetra structures, a lot of people preferred to live on the surface. The forests that once surrounded the entrance to the city had yielded to progress, and had been cut down to make room for the ever expanding city. Already a thriving business district had sprung up, and it seemed inevitable that the city above ground would soon exceed the size of that below.

The first time Tifa had visited the City of the Ancients, she had been struck by the almost eerie loneliness of it. She had never been anywhere where she felt more alone. Even in the company of her companions, she had still felt somehow isolated. It was as if you could almost hear the land itself crying out for the lost Cetra.

But she didn't feel that anymore. Now the streets were bustling with people, the air alive with sound. If she had been plopped down in the middle of this without knowledge of where she was, she would never have guessed. The place seemed just the opposite of what it used to feel like. It was vibrant now, and Tifa liked the change.

In the center of the newly developed area stood the small lake, the lake Tifa would never forget. She felt a pang of sadness as it came into view in front of them, but it quickly faded. The shell house was gone, replaced by a park. In the center of which stood the entrance to the 'old city' as the underground portion of the city was being called these days.

Cloud and Tifa dismounted and left their chocobo's at the public stable, which was located right beside the park. They walked around the edge of the lake, it's crystal clear waters reflecting the sun and the sky above them. It seemed so long ago now that they had laid Aeris to rest here. The pain of it had faded, especially since Aeries was now back among them, but it would never be completely forgotten.

A two story latticework of wood overgrown with ivy now covered the crystal stairway that led down to the old city. The sunlight above them faded quickly away as they descended the stairs, replaced by the eerie glow of the stairway itself and the city below them. Tifa stared out at this more familiar scene. The city was much the same as she remembered it. Not many new buildings had been added here. Only a few new one's could be seen, immediately standing out because of they did not glow. The secret to Cetra construction had vanished long ago.

But in spite of that, much in the city had changed. The streets were lit up with lamps, enhancing and in some places even overpowering the Cetra glow. And the silence, the dark almost living silence she had felt the last time here was banished, replaced by the sounds of a thriving city. The place was no longer deserted. Far from it. Hundreds of people walked the streets, filled up the Inns, shopped at the stores and played in the parks. Tifa had last been here just a few months ago, yet each time she came, the city seemed more alive.

Just as the city above ground seem centered around a lake, so too the underground city also had a body of water in the center. As they approached it Tifa felt her uneasiness return. As the buildings fell away on either side she tried to avoid looking at the lake, but almost of their own accord, as if compelled by some unknown force, she found her gaze falling on the water, and the small gazebo just offshore.

It hadn't changed at all. It looked exactly the same as it had that day so long ago, that day that Tifa would never forget. That day that Aeris had died.

With an effort she forced herself to look away. She was never comfortable anywhere near that gazebo. It always brought back memories she would rather forget. It was one of the reasons they didn't come here to visit their friends as often as she would like.

It was funny, the city held such a mixture of emotions for her. Aeris had been killed here, yet she and Cloud had also been married in Aeris church, right down the road. Sometimes looking back, she thought that might have been a mistake. For all it's changes, for all the time that had passed, no matter how many good things happened here, she would always associate this city with Aeris death. And no matter how much the city thrived, the ghost of the Cetra could still be felt. Perhaps they should have picked a place for their wedding that wasn't weighed down with so much sorrow.

"Are you okay?"

She looked up to see Cloud looking at her curiously. She realized she had gotten so caught up in her thoughts that her pace had slowed to a crawl.

"I'm fine," she said slowly. "It's nothing."

Cloud looked at her for a moment more, then glanced at the gazebo. It seemed he had some insight into what was bothering her, but he said nothing. They started off again, and this time Tifa kept up.

They turned a corner toward the church, and the lake fell behind them. Almost immediately Tifa's spirits lifted. She didn't even understand why the gazebo was still there. If it had been up to her it would have been torn down a long time ago. She had even mentioned it to Aeris, but the Ancient had wanted it left untouched, as a reminder, like some kind of shrine or something. Tifa didn't really agree. In fact, she couldn't see how her friend could stand to live here at all seeing that constant reminder of what had happened to her everyday. Sometimes she thought she didn't understand Aeris at all. But the decision wasn't up to her.

"There's Reeve," Cloud stated.

Tifa looked up. Aeris church was now in view. Reeve stood near the entrance. He waved to them and came over.

"Nice to see you both again," he greeted them warmly.

"You too Reeve," Tifa replied. "How are things going?"

"Could be better," he replied. Tifa couldn't help but look at him carefully. This was the first time she had seen him since Aeris had told her about the proposal. She wondered if he was referring to that or the recent trouble they had been having. Probably both.

"C'mon inside and I'll fill you in," he continued.

They followed him as he led them into the church. The first thing they noticed were some men working on one of the stained glass windows.

Reeve led them past the men and into a small office at the back of the church. He walked behind a large desk that took up most of the space in the room. The top of it was strewn with papers. He sat down heavily in a chair. From the slump of his shoulders and the lines under his eyes, Tifa suspected he hadn't been getting much sleep lately. Were things really that bad?

"Things with that new church starting to get to you?' Cloud asked. He must have seen the same signs that Tifa did, and if so, they must really be obvious.

Reeve nodded.

"Things seem to get worse every day," he replied resignedly. "I'm afraid I'm practically at my wits end. Bradford becomes more defiant every time he speaks. At first he kept the rhetoric down, possibly because he was afraid of some kind of retaliation. But of course there was none. That seems to have emboldened him. Now he's talking openly about throwing off all ties to the Cetra, about how they were evil and how Aeris and her church are trying to undermine human society."

"That's ridiculous," Tifa stated flatly.

"Of course it is!" Reeve spat out. "You and I know that. And these people should know better to. But they don't seem to see it that way. He may be an idiot, but he knows how to work a crowd. I've seen people who have been to his sermons. It's like they're mesmerized. He has a way of speaking that seems to be able to convince anyone of anything. It's some kind of twisted gift."

"And it's all anyone ever hears all day long," he continued, the words all coming out in a burst. "I've tried to make people see the truth, but it doesn't work. Most of the people here know about my relationship with Aeris, they think she's turned me into her attack dog. Bradford has twisted around everything I've said and done."

He suddenly reached down and scooped a paper off the desk. He held it out to them. It was a local tabloid, and the headlines, splayed across the front in bold print, read; 'Mayor seduced by Cetra witch?'

"I mean, look at this! Would you just look at this! Have you ever seen such nonsense in your life?"

Tifa just stared at it for a moment, shocked.

"How can they get away with that?" she exclaimed.

"They can say whatever they want!" Reeve went on. "It's a free city. At least, that's what Aeris seems to think. I wanted to shut them down. I could do it. Legally even. But Aeris refuses to consider it. If you ask me she's taking this whole free speech thing a little to far, but she doesn't seem to give a damn about anyone else's opinion. Hell, what do I know? I'm just the Mayor. They don't want to hear anything from me, they want to hear it from her. But she won't even defend herself! She just takes all his bull and doesn't retaliate, doesn't even try to tell the people the truth."

"Reeve, calm down," Tifa said. Reeve stared at them both for a moment, his face red. Then he paused for a moment, purposely giving himself a second to get a hold of himself. When he spoke again his voice was much calmer.

"I'm sorry," he said. "This whole thing has gotten to me much more than I'd like. I just keep thinking something horrible is going to happen. It's obvious that these people are not above stooping to violence. I just have never been in a situation where I felt so helpless."

"So maybe we should go over to this guy's church and let him know just how much we disapprove of his actions," Cloud said, fingering the hilt of his sword.

"You'll do no such thing!"

They all turned to see Aeris standing in the doorway.

"Hello Aeris," Cloud said calmly.

"I won't have any violence in Ifalnia," she continued, ignoring the greeting. "Not if I can do anything to prevent it. And I certainly won't have it started by my friends."

"We haven't started it," Reeve replied. "Did you see that hole in the window out front? None of your friends threw that rock."

She turned to him with a look of disapproval.

"No one was hurt," she stated.

"But someone easily could have been," Reeve stood his ground. "The intention was clear. At least, as far as I'm concerned."

"You don't know who threw that rock," she replied. "For all you know, it could have been someone who had nothing to do with the Church of Humanity."

Reeve did not reply to that, but the look on his face made his feelings about it clear.

For a moment they all just stood there looking at one another. Tifa decided it might be a good time to play peacemaker.

"Don't worry, Cloud's not going to go barging over there, at least, not til we know more," she said. "Let's just drop it for now, okay? We just got here and I really don't feel like getting into an argument about it."

Cloud nodded and let his hands drop to his sides.

"Of course," Aeris said after a moment. "I'm sorry to have been so testy, and after we haven't seen each other in months. You're right, we can talk about this some other time. You're probably tired from the long trek here. Come back to the house with us. You can get some rest, and Elmyra should be starting on dinner soon. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you."

Aeris words were like a balm that made the tension slip away.

"That'd be great," Cloud replied. He looked at Tifa, who was half sitting on the desk in front of Reeve. "It was a pretty long trip. Are you tired?"

Tifa hesitated a moment before replying, her hand slipping down across her stomach.

"A little," she replied.

"I still can't believe you two are going to have a baby," Aeris said with a smile.

"I know," Reeve agreed, obviously relieved to have dropped the previous subject. "How far along are you now?"

"Six months," Tifa replied, patting her stomach softly. Sometimes she could hardly believe it herself.

"And you still haven't come up with a name?" Aeris questioned.

"Not really," Tifa replied.

"Well, there's still plenty of time," Reeve stated. "Shall we go?"

The others nodded and Reeve led them out of the church. Elmyra and Aeris house was just down the block, a small nondescript two story building that was an original Cetra structure. Elmyra's voice floated through the air as soon as they entered.

"Is that you dear?"

"Yes," Aeris replied. "Along with Reeve and Cloud and Tifa."

Elmyra walked into the room from another entrance. She was holding a PHS in her hand.

"Good," she said. "You came back just in time. Vincent wants to talk to you."

They all looked at her for a moment, somewhat surprised. Of all of them, Vincent was by far the one who used the PHS the least. Cloud thought that a dire emergency would have to exist for him to use it at all.

"Is it some kind of trouble?" Aeris asked, apparently thinking much along the same lines.

"I don't know dear, I just started talking to him," Elmyra replied, holding out the device.

Aeris took it and wedged it beside her ear.

"Vincent?"

She listened for quite some time, only responding with an occasional 'uh huh'. Tifa strained her ears to try to pick up what Vincent might be saying, but to no avail.

"All right Vincent," she said finally. "Yes I understand. Uh huh. I don't know whether that's possible right now. I'll tell the others. All right. Bye."

She clicked off the PHS.

"Vincent wants us to come to Corel," she said. "He and Elena found a man in the woods suffering from mako poisoning."

"Mako poisoning?" Tifa repeated.

"Yes," Aeris replied. "They found him near Lucrecia's waterfall."

"Lucrecia's waterfall," Cloud said thoughtfully. "I didn't know there were any sources of mako in that area."

"I didn't know there was any sources of mako anywhere anymore," Tifa stated.

"Neither did I," Reeve said. "Shinra did a pretty good job of hunting down all that was available in their time, but there still might be some around that were never discovered. Still, even if that were so, it's hard to believe there might be a concentration so strong that it can cause mako poisoning and still not have been discovered."

"Unless the person was exposed over a long period of time," Tifa suggested.

"Or, someone is messing around with mako again," Cloud said slowly, bringing out into the open what they were all thinking.

"Why would someone do that?" Tifa said distastefully.

"For the same reasons Shinra did," Cloud replied. "To make SOLDIERS."

"Or to use as a power source," Reeve said thoughtfully.

"Or both," Cloud agreed.

Tifa wasn't happy at all with what she was hearing. She thought that after all that had happened, after the dangers of using mako had been so clearly demonstrated, people finally understood.

"Couldn't there be some other reason?" she pleaded.

"Sure, it's possible," Cloud said after a moment. "There's always a chance that Shinra didn't find it all, that there's still some large undiscovered source out there. It's possible the man just wandered into it my mistake."

From the sound of his voice, however, Tifa could see that he didn't believe that. She turned to look at Aeris, who didn't even seem to be listening, but was staring at the far wall, as if distracted.

"What did Vincent think?" she asked.

Aeris' head swiveled to look at her.

"He seemed to think something was up," she replied. "That's why he wanted us to come there. They couldn't talk to the man. He was incoherent. In fact, the doctors in Corel didn't think he was going to live."

Tifa looked from one to the other. That was not what she wanted to hear. It must have been obvious how much this upset her, for Cloud suddenly walked over to her and laid his arm across her shoulders.

"It's probably nothing," he reassured her. "I'm sure we'll have it all straightened out in no time."

But instead of calming her his attempt at reassurance just made it worse. She knew he was just saying that to try to make her feel better. She was sick of it. She had hoped, had prayed, that their days of fighting and controversy were finally over. After they had stopped Jenova she thought they were done, that there was no one else left to fight. But now this? Was there someone else out there performing twisted experiments, or trying to make a mako enhanced army? Would it ever end? She pulled away from him angrily.

"Don't lie to me," she snapped. "I'm not a child. I know you don't believe that."

He just stood there looking at her for a moment, surprise written on his face. Then he slowly folded his arms across his chest.

"Is everyone in a bad mood today?" he questioned.

Tifa turned to Aeris once more.

"What about you?" she questioned. The Ancient probably knew more about mako than any of them, yet Aeris had not voiced an opinion. "What do you think of all this?"

"I'm not sure," Aeris said slowly, sounding somewhat distracted. Reeve gave her a sharp look.

"Aeris, is there something on your mind?" he asked.

Aeris hesitated a moment before answering.

"Lately I've felt something was wrong," she said. "The planet has been disturbed. I'm afraid I've been too distracted to pay much attention to it."

"How long have you felt this way?" Reeve questioned.

Aeris shrugged.

"A few weeks," she replied.

"A few weeks?" he repeated. "And you didn't say anything?"

"I didn't want to burden you with anymore worries," she replied defensively. "It was just a feeling. It was nothing definite. But Vincent's find casts things in a new light."

Reeve just looked at her for a moment, then turned away.

"I'll say it does," he muttered.

"It could still be nothing," Tifa said, making one last effort to get herself to believe that.

"True," Cloud replied. "But we won't find out by standing around here discussing it. I think Vincent is right. We need to go to Corel." He turned to face his wife. "Tifa, it might be a good idea if you went back to Kalm."

Tifa just looked at him for a moment.

"I want to come with you!" she blurted out.

Cloud did not reply, but his face was set. For a moment they were silent. She turned to look at the others. Immediately she realized she would get no support.

"I think in this case, Cloud might be correct," Reeve said tentatively. "Your most important concern should be that baby."

Tifa still didn't reply. She didn't want to go back to Kalm. If they were going into danger again she wanted to be by Cloud's side. She needed to be by Cloud's side. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. It didn't take a genius to realize that she wasn't going to change this decision.

"I can't go either," Aeris spoke up.

They turned toward her.

"You all know the situation here," she stated. "I don't think this would be a good time for me to leave."

For a moment they were silent again. Reeve's gut reaction was to protest. He didn't want to leave Aeris here, unprotected. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her while he was away. But it was true, it wouldn't be a good time for her to leave. Bradford would undoubtedly take advantage of that. Even if she wasn't defending herself, her mere presence was a source of comfort for her followers. If she left, the few rational people that still remained here might fall under Bradford's sway.

He was tempted to tell Cloud that he was going to stay too. But he didn't. Without Tifa or Aeris with him, Cloud would need all the help he could get. He couldn't let his friend go alone. But still he couldn't help but say something.

"Are you sure you'll be safe here by yourself?"

Aeries turned to look at Tifa.

"Instead of going back to Kalm, why don't you stay here with me?" she suggested. "This way we'll both have some company."

Tifa glanced at Cloud.

"It's alright with me," she said slowly. In fact, the offer made her feel a lot better.

Cloud seemed to have no objection. The fact of the matter was, he thought it was a good idea as well. Though Tifa couldn't fight, he felt better leaving someone he trusted here with Aeris. Reeve, in fact, looked visibly relieved by the idea.

"That's fine," Cloud said.

"All right," Reeve said, happy that that had all been settled relatively painlessly. "Let's give Cid a call and see if he can come pick us up."

* * *

"What a beautiful day."

Cid opened one eye at Shera's observation. He was lying on his back on a blanket spread across the ground. Shera was sitting beside him, pulling items out of the picnic basket they had brought with them. Not far away Sydney was playing in the grass with a toy airplane.

Cid looked up at the cloudless blue sky above them. The sun was almost directly overhead. He turned to look at Shera, the tall mountains to the south of Rocketown silhouetted behind her.

"Yup," he returned.

Shera looked up for a moment, shading her eyes from the sun.

"I'm glad we came."

He let his head fall back down, bringing his hands up behind it.

"Yup," he repeated.

She pulled the final item out of the basket, a red pitcher, and set it down beside the blanket.

"Is that all you can say?" she questioned.

He cocked an eye at her one more time.

"Yup."

She laughed and shook her head.

"You're incorrigible," she commented. "And don't you say 'yup'," she cautioned as he opened his mouth to reply.

He paused and looked at her for a moment.

"Yes I am," he decided upon.

"We should do this more often," she said, still smiling. Since the successful trip to Grouchoon, Cid had become even more famous than ever. Companies all over the world were clamoring for the services of the company he and Shera had formed, Highwind Inc. Almost immediately upon returning they had been deluged with offers. They had been working nearly nonstop the entire year just trying to keep up. In fact, only two months ago a new company, Vanguard, had hired them to build half a dozen aircraft similar to the Slipstream for what seemed to Shera to be a ridiculously large sum of gil. In fact, it seemed so unrealistic that at first they had thought the offer was some kind of joke. But they soon found out the company was perfectly serious and the offer was legitimate. Personally she thought they were crazy, but she wasn't about to complain. They were both doing what they really loved and making a whole lot of gil doing it. For them it was a dream come true. She didn't care how crazy the company was, as long as it paid them.

Of course, for that kind of gil they were expected to do an exemplary job. These last two months they had been working day and night making sure everything went smoothly. The gil was good but the long hours were tough, especially on Cid. With Sydney to tend to, Shera couldn't help him as much as she used to. He had been going from dawn to dusk for a long time now, and though he didn't say anything, she knew he needed a rest.

Which was the reason she had suggested this little getaway. Cid had protested, of course. There were a million things that needed tending. The workers he had were total incompetents and would either goof off or screw up the moment they were out of his sight. The deadlines were closing in and he couldn't possibly finish in time if there were any delays.

But all his protestations had fallen on deaf ears. Shera knew very well that the projects were currently running on schedule. And in spite of what Cid said about the help, the truth was they were some of the best in the business. Them being away one day wasn't going to make any difference, and Shera knew it.

She took a deep breath. It was nice to feel fresh air on her face. Air uncontaminated by the fumes from rocket fuel. They had set their blanket out at the foot of a hill just north of the mountains. Cedar and elm trees were scattered about them, but the blanket itself was in a small clearing. To the west a river meandered around the hill, twisting it's way in a slow half turn before turning eastward and disappearing into the trees. To the north the ground dropped down slowly, opening up onto a wide plain. If she looked, just on the horizon she could make out the rooftops of the tallest houses in Rocketown.

"The food is ready," she announced, standing up. She turned to see that Sydney was now playing not far from the river. The toddler was tossing the small airplane in the air and chasing it.

"Time to eat, baby," she called out.

Sydney turned to look at her, smiling as she walked toward him. The child was only a few paces from the river.

The sun was almost directly overhead. It was so bright she almost had to squint to see. She should have brought a hat, she thought idly. A gentle breeze blew through her hair, sending tendrils of it dancing about her face. It felt refreshing.

A shadow in the water suddenly caught her eye. At first she thought it was a reflection of something in the sky, perhaps a cloud. But she glanced up and the sky was clear. When she looked down again, the shadow had moved. In fact, was still moving, and rather swiftly. Now she realized it wasn't something in the sky at all. It was something under the surface of the water, and it was big. It had been moving slowly, but now it suddenly sped up, darting right for the shore, right for the spot where Sydney stood.

"Cid!" she cried out, suddenly running forward, before she was even sure what it was. A moment later there was an explosion of water as the beast shot out of the river.

It was huge, or at least, it looked so to Shera. It bore a resemblance to a frog, or at least, more to a frog than anything else. But the huge jaw filled with razor sharp teeth was extremely unfroglike. Shera really didn't notice much of the particulars. All she saw was some kind of green horror lurching for her child. The details were for some reason lost on her.

She screamed again. Sydney stood transfixed, not understanding the danger yet old enough to realize her mother was frightened. She frowned, and then opened her mouth, as if to start crying, but she didn't get the chance.

With a burst of speed Shera raced forward and scooped up the child, a moment before the monster crashed down on the spot where she had been a second ago. Shera felt like a ton of bricks had slammed into her leg. She cried out again and fell to the ground.

Rolling to the side, she turned her head to see the monster right beside her. She could hear it's screeching cry, it's disgusting order filled her lungs, almost making her gag. She tried to scramble away while at the same time protecting Sydney underneath her.

Something clamped down on her leg again. She pulled away, but it was as if she were held in a vice. She half turned to see fiery red eyes staring down at he. She screamed again.

And one of the eyes went out.

Shera felt something wet splash against her back. The creature let out a hideous roar. And then suddenly she was free. She scrambled up, pulling herself to her feet. For some reason her left leg didn't seem to want to obey her. She stumbled a few feet, until she was clear of the monster, then turned to look back.

The creature was thrashing violently about, Cid's spear still protruding from one eye. It lashed out at Cid, who dodged to the side, then deftly reached in and pulled his spear loose. The creature cried out again, lifting itself in the air, then slamming it's front legs down, trying to pin Cid underneath, but again the pilot was too quick for it, dodging to the side yet again. The creature tried to repeat the tactic, but this time when it reared up Cid suddenly lunged forward and drove the spear right up into it's soft underbelly.

The creature let out yet another roar, even more anguished than those before. It jerked back, and once again Cid lost hold of his spear. But he didn't need it anymore. The last blow had been mortal. The creature jerked spasmodically, then suddenly turned and tried to get back to the water. But at the very edge it collapsed to the ground and lay still.

Cid ran over to Shera, who was standing frozen with Sydney in her arms.

"Are you two alright?" he exclaimed.

She found herself sinking to the ground. Sydney was crying softly in her arms. She realized tears running her own cheeks as well. Cid sat down beside her and put his arms around her.

"It's all right," he said. "It's over now."

For a long time she couldn't move or speak or even think. But eventually she started to calm down. In a few minutes Sydney quieted, and that seemed to sooth Shera as well. Eventually, she felt recovered enough to get up again, but when she tried, her left leg gave out on her.

"I've hurt my leg," she said.

"Let me take a look at it," Cid replied.

He examined her leg.

"It's not cut," he said. "But there's a bruise. You might have a big black and blue mark there tomorrow. Do you think you can walk?"

"I don't know," she said.

She rested there for a little while longer, than tried again. Although her leg still hurt, she thought she could manage.

"I think it's going to be all right," she said, getting unsteadily to her feet.

She turned to look at the body of the creature beside the water.

"What is that thing?"

Cid walked over to the beast and nudged it with his foot.

"Beats me," he replied. "I thought we'd cleared all the monsters out of these parts. I guess there must still be a few left."

"I heard some talk about town of some people seeing some things up this way," Shera said slowly. "But I thought it was just that, talk."

Cid looked up slowly, his gaze falling on the mountains to the south.

"It must have come down the river from the mountains," he surmised. "There might still be things like this in the forests up there, where nobody goes."

Shera made no reply.

"Well, I think that about does it for the picnic," Cid observed. "Are you ready to go back."

He picked up Sydney. The young girl had completely recovered, and now seemed as happy as she had been when she was playing with his plane by the stream. Shera wished she could recover as quickly. They had come up here to leave their troubles behind them. To relax. To get away from the hustle and bustle of Rocketown. But the hustle and bustle didn't seem like such a bad thing anymore. The fact was, she suddenly couldn't wait to get back.

"I'd like nothing better," she replied.


	4. The Church of Humanity

CHAPTER IV

THE CHURCH OF HUMANITY

Red dust swirled in the air as the Slipstream settled down just outside of Cosmo Canyon. The door slid open and Cid stepped out, waving his hand in front of him and coughing.

"If you really want this place to grow, you're going to have to build a real runway instead of having everyone land in this dustrap. I can hardly breath," he said to one of the two red beasts that stood not far from the plane, their russet coats blending so well with the canyon walls that they were nearly invisible from more than a few paces away.

"With all those cigarettes you smoke, it's a wonder you even noticed," Nipala spoke up wryly.

"She's got you there," Cloud stated, sticking his head out of the plane behind the pilot, who gave them both a withering look.

"Nobody asked you!" he snapped at Cloud. Turning to the two in front of him again, he continued. "Well, whatcha waitin' for? We ain't got all day to dally here. Get on board."

Without a word Red and Nipala entered the plane. A few moments later Cid was back in the pilot's seat and the Slipstream was back in the air.

"So what exactly is going on?" Nipala asked from his seat beside Cloud. "The details you gave us on the PHS were a bit sketchy."

Cloud filled then in on the call he had gotten from Vincent.

"Very peculiar," Red muttered when he was done. "It does seem to explain some things."

"Huh?" Cloud said, looking at him. "What are you talking about?"

Red shook his head.

"I'll have to see the man first," he said cryptically.

Cloud was about to press, but decided against it. It was only minutes from Cosmo Canyon to Corel. It wouldn't take them long to get there.

He looked out the window. Below them the country was rough. They were flying right over the southern arm of the Nibel Mountain range. Few people lived in this area. A few sheep herders, some subsistence farmers eking out a living high up on the slopes. The land was mostly deserted. To the right he could barely make out the tall ring of mountains that held Lucrecia's falls and the lake below it. The land below was not good for farming or building. It was some one of the most desolate areas left in the world. At least as far as human occupation was concerned. If there was a mako source still out there to be discovered, he wouldn't be surprised if it was hidden in the mountains and narrow valleys below. Perhaps that was all there was to this after all.

They crossed over the crest of the tall range, the snow capped mountaintops only a few hundred feet below them now. Then the land plunged steeply downward. Ahead Cloud could now see a broad grass covered plain, resting between the arms of two mountain ranges. At the northern end the two ranges converged, and there on the plain below, Corel was nestled.

The city had grown, and now covered the entire northern area of the plain, and some of the surrounding foothills as well. Save for Wutai, Corel had been the fastest growing city in the world since the fall of Shinra. It covered nearly four times the area it once had, and had been completely modernized. As the Slipstream streaked toward it, Cloud could see office building rising up in the center of the business district, gleaming in the sun. Wutai produced most of it's revenue from trade and tourism. Corel, on the other hand, had become a major financial center. It's central location made it an ideal meeting place for businessmen from all areas of the world. The downtown area itself had dozens of luxury hotels filled with conference centers with all the modern conveniences.

All of which made Mayor Wallace very proud, but didn't matter all that much to Cloud.

The Slipstream dropped down lower, slowing down for it's landing approach at the Corel airport. Cloud remembered a time, not too long ago, when the only place to land an aircraft here had been the plain outside of town.

Cid brought the Slipstream down smooth as silk. The plane taxied down the runway and came to a halt beside the main terminal. As Cid shut down the engines, Reeve pulled open the door and they stepped out onto the tarmac.

A limousine was parked nearby. Barrett stood next to it. He waved them over when he saw them disembark.

"Hello Barret," Nipala said when they reached him.

"Good to see you all," he replied, his face serious. "Vincent and Elena are waiting at the hospital. There hasn't been any change in the man they brought in. The doctors don't give him much of a chance."

Without any more preamble than that, he piled them into the limo.

"Uncle Cloud!"

Cloud looked up as he entered, surprised to see Marlene sitting in the corner of the limo. He smiled.

"Marlene! What are you doing here?"

"No school today," she replied. "And when dad told me he was meeting all of you at the airport, I kinda begged him to come along."

"It's nice to see you again, Marlene," Red said politely.

Cloud plopped himself down beside her and looked her over with a critical eye.

"Dang, you get bigger everytime I see you," he observed. "Keep this up and pretty soon I'm going to be looking up at you."

Marlene giggled.

"Where's aunt Tifa?"

"She stayed at Ifalnia," he replied. "To keep Aeris company."

Marlene looked disappointed.

"I was hoping to see her," she said."I'm so excited about the baby, aren't you, Uncle Cloud?"

"You bet I am."

Cid was the last to get there, having made sure the Slipstream was in good hands. Barret stepped in after him and sat down. The limo was spacious, but even so it was still kind of cramped with the seven of them. Barret by himself practically took up two spaces. He fingered the intercom.

"Let's get going, Dannor."

The driver in front nodded though the smoked glass and the vehicle pulled smoothly away from the curb. Cloud sat back beside Marlene. The leather seats were very comfortable. Though Barret still carried his trademark gun attachment, almost everything else about him had changed. His hair was still cut short, but it no longer had a ragged look. He was dressed in a dark grey business suit, complete with black and white striped tie. Everything about him exuded a word that Cloud would never have thought to use with the Barret he knew. Respectability. Things sure had changed.

The ride to the hospital only took minutes. The limo parked in a parking garage beneath the building. Barret led them to an elevator and up to the fourth floor, then down a hall and into one of the rooms.

Vincent and Elena were already there. Vincent stood up when the others came in. The man they had brought in lay in the bed in the middle of the room. Cloud walked over to him curiously.

The man's eyes were open, but he did not look at Cloud. He was staring at the ceiling. The hospital had cleaned him up when he had been brought in. He was no longer covered with dirt and grime. He looked to be in his late twenties, early thirties. Other than the glowing eyes and the catatonic state, there didn't seem to be anything unusual about him. Not that that wasn't unusual enough.

"Looks just like you did," Cid said, coming up beside Cloud.

"Uh huh," Cloud muttered.

"The doctors confirmed it," Vincent stated. "It's definitely mako poisoning."

"What do you make of this, Red?" Reeve asked. "Can you tell what caused it?"

Red came up beside them, looking at the man, his nose nearly touching the man's arm. For a long time he didn't say anything.

"No," he replied. "There's no way to tell how the mako poisoning occurred, if that's what you mean. But I suspect this is a very bad development."

"How so?" Cloud questioned.

Red sat down on his haunches.

"I've been studying the planet in the observatory," he replied after a moment. "Unusual things have been happening."

"Unusual?" Elena said.

"Yes, unusual," Red replied. "Some kind of disturbance in the lifestream. I haven't seen anything like it since before Shinra."

"Could you be a little more specific?" Vincent questioned.

Red sighed.

"The lifestream is always hard to interpret," he replied. "But the last time I saw disturbances like that was when Shinra was trying to manipulate mako in their reactors."

"Reactors?" Elena exclaimed. "But there are no more. They were all shut down!"

"They were," Red agreed. "But they were not destroyed. Even after being abandoned all this time, it's still possible they might be functional, if someone decided to start them up again."

"Who would do such a thing?" Elena continued. "Everyone knows how dangerous they are."

"Who knows?" Red replied. "They were dangerous, yes, but as Shinra showed us, they could also supply someone with a lot of power, if they were unscrupulous enough."

"But aren't there safeguards?" Reeve said. "Aren't the old reactors watched over?"

"The ones in populated areas, yes," Red responded. "I don't think anyone could fool with the one in Junon or the rebuilt one in Gongaga without being noticed. Although Midgar is abandoned, it's right out on the open plain, and plenty of traffic goes by it every day on the way from Kalm to Junon. I think if something happened there, someone would be bound to notice. But there is one reactor that I don't think anyone pays any attention to."

"The one in the Nibel mountains," Cloud said hollowly.

Red nodded.

"Uh oh," Cid said suddenly.

"What?" Cloud said, turing to look at him.

Cid told them about his families encounter with the monster outside of Rocket Town

"That's just over the moutains from that reactor," Cid finished. "If the monster came from there, it would be a simple matter for it to come downstream right to where we were."

Cloud scowled.

"It is possible someone might have reactivated that one without anyone noticing." Red said.

"To what purpose?" Elena asked.

"We don't know for sure," Red replied. "Any number of reasons. To perform mako experiments. To create SOLDIERS. To use as a power source. Or maybe something we haven't even thought of yet."

"Just like Shinra?" Barret blurted out. "Goddam, I thought we were through with all this shit."

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Reeve said reasonably. "It could still be just a natural source, right Red?"

"It's possible," Red replied. "I suppose if a natural source was strong enough, it would cause the type of reaction I've seen at the planetarium. But to do that, and to do what it did to this man, it would have to be huge, much larger than anything we've seen yet."

"But how could something like that just suddenly appear?" Cid questioned.

"I'm not sure," Red answered. "There's still so much we don't know about the mako. Perhaps it's always been there, just buried underground, and some natural event, like a rockslide or an earthquake, exposed it."

"How likely is that?" Elena questioned skeptically.

"Not very," Red admitted. "Yet we can't rule it out entirely."

"Unless we find some activity at the Nibel reactor," Cloud stated.

"It does seem the likeliest possibility," Red said.

"But what if..." Elena began.

The man in the bed had been quiet since they had entered. In fact, Cloud had nearly forgotten he was there at all. But suddenly, as if someone had turned a switch, he started to scream.

The all turned toward him, startled by the outburst. Cloud's hand went automatically to his weapon. He couldn't understand what the man was yelling. It almost seemed like words, but he couldn't make out any of them. They all just stood there staring at the man. Restrains had been holding him down, for when he had first been brought in he had been difficult to control. Not only was he screaming, but now he was straining against the restraints, trying to push himself up.

"Get the doctor!" Barret called out, rushing over. He grabbed hold of the man to try to get him to calm down, but it only seemed to agitate the man farther. He turned and looked straight at Barret. With a sudden wrenching movement he pushed himself up again, and the restraints snapped.

Before anyone could move the man had grabbed hold of Barret's arm. Instinctively Barret tried to pull away, but the man's grip was like a vice.

"What the hell..." he began.

Before he could say anymore the man twisted his arm, and Barret felt excruciating pain shoot through his forearm. He cried out, but even as he did so the man pulled on his arm, wrenching him forward, and throwing him tumbling over the bed as if he were a child.

The man sprang to his feet as Barret crashed against the far wall. Cloud could hear the others all shouting, though he really didn't hear what they were saying. Elena had her gun out and was slowly backing away. Vincent had stepped in front of her. Cid had his spear out and was advancing on the man. Reeve, pushing Marlene in front of him, had run out the door, calling for the doctor. Cloud stepped up beside Cid, facing the man. He had not drawn his own weapon. The man stopped for a moment, looking around as if confused.

"We're not going to hurt you," Cloud said, trying to keep his voice calm. They were only a few steps from one another. He could easily have lunged forward and grabbed the man, who did not look particularly strong nor wary. But Cloud had seen what he had done to Barret, whom he had tossed across the room as if a rag doll. The mako made him much stronger than he looked.

The man screamed again. This time Cloud could pick out a few words. He distinctly heard the sentence, 'you're not going to get me' and at least one other word.

"We're not trying to get you," Red stated in a calm voice. "No one is going to hurt you. Please try to relax."

The man turned and looked straight at Red.

"I don't believe you!" he screamed, then lunged forward right at the red beast.

For a moment Cloud thought Red was going to stand his ground, but at the last instant he leapt out of the way. The man swung wildly at him, managing to make contact. The red beast spun in the air and tumbled to the ground, then leapt up, apparently unhurt.

The man did not hesitate. He turned and lunged again for the closest person, who happened to be Elena. She cried out and pushed herself against the wall behind her, as if trying to push straight through it. Her gun was trained on the man, but she was obviously reluctant to fire.

Before she had to make that decision, however, Vincent suddenly slammed into the man from the side. The both fell to the ground in a heap. Vincent tried to keep the man down, but he was like a wild animal, a wild animal with fierce strength. Legs and arms flailing, he was moving so fast Vincent couldn't get a decent grip. The man suddenly spun around, driving his arm back, smacking Vincent in the head, almost making him lose his grip.

Without waiting any longer Cloud leapt into the fray. He tried to grab hold of one of the man's legs, and was rewarded with a kick in the face. Ignoring the pain, he tried again, this time his hands managed to close on the man's leg, but it was like trying to hold a tornado. Cloud felt himself being pulled around helplessly as the man tried to get out of his grasp, and was reduced to just trying to hold on for dear life.

Cid had dropped his spear and was no also trying to subdue the man, but didn't seem to be having any better luck than Cloud or Vincent. Even with the three of them on top of him, the man managed to pull himself up to his feet. With a wild cry he twisted around, and Cloud felt the man's leg tear out of his grasp. All three of them tumbled to the floor.

Red flew through the air, crashing his five hundred pound frame into the man. They both fell to the floor, the man slamming against the wall and cracking the plasterboard. But even that didn't stop him. Unbelievably, the man grabbed hold of Red and tossed him to the side, almost as easily as he had Barret. The man sprung to his feet again and started screaming once more.

The others had gotten to their feet once again as well. They all stood there for a moment, reluctant to attack. Cloud had never felt such brute strength before, not even when he had faced Sephiroth.

"Please stop," Nipala spoke up, trying to reason with him again. "No one here wants to hurt you."

Just then Reeve reappeared in the doorway, followed by the doctor and a number of orderlies.

The man screamed again when he saw the reinforcements. He looked around wildly, like a trapped animal, and suddenly his eyes fell on the window.

He sprang for it. Elena, who was standing right beside it, cringed back. Cloud, realizing what the man's intentions were at the last moment, lunged for him, but he was too late.

With an enormous crash the man burst through the window, sending glass flying. Elena cried out. Cloud ran up to the window and looked down.

Even the man's iron strength apparently couldn't save him from a four story fall. He lay splayed out on the pavement below them, unmoving.

"Oh my god," Elena said softly.

The doctor ran to the window and looked down. Already they could see other hospital workers gathering around the body.

"Get down there and see if you can help," he told the orderlies. The men nodded and left the room.

"What happened here?" the doctor questioned, looking around at them.

"He just went bananas," Barret said, getting up and rubbing his arm.

"That sums it up rather concisely," Red agreed. "We were just standing here talking, and suddenly he went crazy. I can think of nothing we did or said that might have set him off."

The doctor nodded slowly.

"It has been known to happen in these sort of cases," he said slowly. "It's rare, but then again, I don't think I've seen anyone quite as bad as he was. It wasn't likely he was going to live anyway, but it's still a shame."

"Indeed," Red agreed.

"I better get down there and see if I can do anything," the doctor said. He turned and walked out the door. The others stood there in silence for a long time.

"It doesn't appear we have anymore to learn here," Vincent said pragmatically.

"No, it does not," Cloud said slowly. "Did anyone hear what he was saying?"

"It didn't make much sense," Cid replied. "I heard him say that we weren't going to get him."

"I also heard him say something else," Cloud replied. "It sounded like En garde."

"En garde? Like he was fencing?" Barret said with a frown.

"If didn't sound like En garde to me," Vincent said. "It sounded like _Van_guard."

"Vanguard?" Cloud said slowly. For some reason it sounded vaguely familiar.

"Are you sure?" Barret questioned.

"I think so," Vincent replied.

"Why, does that mean anything to you?" Reeve questioned.

"Yes," Barret said. "It's a big company that has been buying up property in Corel. They wanted me to condemn some land so they could buy it and build a mall a while back, but I wouldn't go along."

"It's not only Corel where they're buying up property," Elena cut in. "They also took over the Junon Power Company, and they've been buying land in Wutai and Gongaga like there's no tomorrow. They've become a major player in the business world, although no one had even heard of them just a few years ago. It's like they came out of nowhere."

Vincent looked at her curiously.

"I heard it around the office," she stated. "The Turks keep up with that sort of thing."

Cloud looked at the others with a deepening frown. He didn't like at all what he was hearing.

"So we've got a mysterious source of mako, a disturbance in the lifestream, and another giant company that seems to have an unlimited source of revenue. Does anyone else besides me think this adds up to serious trouble."

No one disagreed.

"So what should we do?" Reeve questioned.

Cloud saw the others were waiting for him to speak.

"We have to go check out the reactor in the Nibel mountains," he replied. "But we also need to find out more about this Vanguard company."

"So you think we should split up?" Barret questioned.

"Yeah," Cloud nodded. "But I also think we could use some help. We need someone to infiltrate this Vanguard company and get us some information."

He turned to look at Elena.

"I believe you have some friends who are adept at that sort of thing."

* * *

If Ifalnia hadn't already had a name, Tifa would have chosen City of Gardens. Eveywhere you went, you were surrounded by flora. Every other block seemed to contain a park. Every sidewalk had a line of trees along it. Almost every building you passed had a small garden filled with flowers in front of it. And such flowers! The plants that grew here were unlike anything else in the world. All of them seemed larger, healthier and more beautiful than seemed possible. Their colors brightened the city, their scent filled it. That was unusual enough in the portion of the city that was above ground, where there was plenty of sunlight, but if anything, the greenery was even more lush in the underground portion of the city. Perhaps it had something to do with the light that the Cetra structures gave off, or perhaps it was the extra care that everyone seemed to take when tending the plants, or perhaps it was more basic than that. Perhaps it was the mere fact that the Cetra had made their home here. Either way, she didn't think she had never laid eyes on a city more beautiful, and she didn't think she ever would.

The street she was on now was no exception. The road here was lined with trees as well. She had no idea what kind of trees they were, but like all the other plants here, they were breathtakingly beautiful. Their trunks were white as snow, and smooth to the touch. Their leaves, hanging down like a canopy above, were silver in color. They seemed like young trees, none larger that six or eight feet tall. Each one the same, yet completely different.

Streetlamps above her cast silvery shadows through the leaves of the trees. Even though it was the middle of the day, just past noon actually, sunlight did not penetrate into the underground city. Yet she did not miss it. The bright light of the streetlamps, and the glow of the Cetra buildings had an appeal all their own

Even so, not all of the buildings glowed. The secret had been lost. And even if the human builders used the exact same type of stone that was used to create the Cetra buildings, they could not duplicate the strange illumination the Cetra engineers had created.

Now she stood right in front of one such building. Like many of the structures on this block it was made of simple concrete. It did not glow, did not look significantly different from any of the other new buildings that had been put up in the last few years here. Above the door was an unremarkable sign that read 'Church of Humanity'.

Tifa hesitated, looking up at the sign above her. She wasn't sure it was such a good idea to come here, but she had to admit she had been curious.

She slowly walked up the steps until she stood right in the entranceway. The doors were open, and she could see inside. It didn't look any different from any other church she had ever been in. She could see a few people sitting in the pews near the front, but no one else.

Slowly she walked in. The ceiling curved high over her head, long wooden beams running the length of it. Stain glass windows lined the walls. Except for the obvious human architecture, it wasn't much different from Aeris church. A few heads turned to look at her, and then turned away again in disinterest. She looked around nervously, not exactly sure why she was so nervous. So this was the place, the center of all the talk against Aeris and the Cetra. Yet everything seemed quiet and peaceful.

She shook her head slowly. What had she expected? Acolytes dressed in black robes appearing suddenly to take her prisoner? Evil priests offering sacrifices to satanic gods?

Besides, she was human, not Cetra. No one here knew here. To them, she was just another ordinary worshipper.

"Mrs. Strife?"

She spun around at the sound of the voice. A man dressed in priests robes stood by the entrance, just a few feet from her. She had just walked by where he stood, but she had not seen him. He was tall, though not quite as tall as Barret. His hair was long, and almost black, and a mustache and beard covered most of his lower face, but the most striking thing about him was his eyes. They were dark, though she couldn't say afterward exactly what color they were. They seemed to almost reach out and grab her.

"How...how do you know my name?" she stammered, flustered.

The man stepped closer, so he was right in front of her.

"You're quite famous you know," he replied easily. "Since you saved the planet from Sephiroth and Jenova, everyone in AVALANCHE is well known."

Tifa just stood there, not sure how to reply. Of course they knew her. How silly to think they wouldn't.

The man's eyes strayed down toward her stomach.

"I heard that you and Mr. Strife were going to have a baby," he said. "Let me add my congratulations to those of others. It's a wonderful thing, isn't it? God's greatest blessing."

Again Tifa did not reply. She still didn't seem to have recovered from her initial surprise.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Gilan Bradford," the man continued. "I have to admit it's quite a pleasant surprise to see you here. I couldn't be more pleased, actually. I've been meaning to speak to one of you."

"Uh huh," Tifa said slowly.

"Come," he said. "Let us find someplace more comfortable to speak. I'm sure you don't want to stand here and talk."

He raised his hand, motioning for her to walk with him. He started walking toward the front of the church and she followed without protest. Again it struck her that maybe this wasn't such a good idea, but the thought seemed abstract, almost as if it was someone else thinking it.

Gilan led her into a small office near the front. He offered her a seat, which she took without a word. Then sat down himself behind the desk.

"Comfortable?" he asked. "Do you want something to drink?"

"I'm fine," Tifa replied slowly, beginning to wonder how she had suddenly found herself in this position. All she had wanted to do was walk into the church and take a look around, and here she was suddenly, sitting in a private office with the man who was saying all these nasty things about Aeris. Was this really him, she wondered. Strange, but he certainly didn't seem threatening in any way.

"I'm sorry to pry, but I'm very curious," Gilan went on. "You've know Miss. Gainsborough a long time. And you also were acquainted with that Ellengio fellow. What is your impression of them?"

Tifa looked at him for a moment without answering. She was over her surprise now, but she still felt strange. She still felt like she was in sort of a fog, like she couldn't think straight. It took all her concentration to say anything at all. He was looking at her still, and she couldn't seem to pull her gaze away from his.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It's really very simple," Gilan responded. "How do you feel about the Cetra. What is your general impression of them?"

"I...I don't know," she replied, not even sure she should be answering. "They're just like everyone else, I guess. They have faults and problems just like the rest of us."

Gilan nodded slowly.

"You've never seen them exhibit unusual behavior?"

Tifa didn't reply for a moment. Of course she'd seen them exhibit unusual behavior. Nobody else she knew could speak with the planet. Sometimes almost everything Aeris did seemed like unusual behavior to Tifa. She wanted to ask him what he was getting at, but for some reason, she didn't say that.

"They're Cetra," she replied. "Of course they exhibit unusual behavior."

Gilan smiled.

"Yes, I suppose that's true," he replied. "You've become quite close to Miss. Gainsborough, haven't you?"

"Yes," Tifa replied.

"You consider her a friend?"

Tifa felt she should be angry at this question. What business was this of his anyway?

"Yes," she replied again.

"And she's your friend?"

"Of course."

Gilan looked at her for a long time.

"Are you sure?"

Again Tifa felt an abstract anger. She wished he'd get to the point. She wished he'd just say what he meant to say. Why was she even listening to this? Why didn't she just get up and walk right out the door?

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Do you know that when the Cetra originally came here, their purpose was to enslave the human race?"

She just looked at him for a moment. What was he trying to say? She felt strangely confused. What was wrong with her?

"That's ridiculous," she finally managed to say.

"Is it?" Gilan responded. "How can you be so sure? You of all people should know the Cetra weren't saints. They were the one's who created Jenova in the first place, remember?"

He leaned forward, staring at Tifa.

"Most people think that there are no records of what happened when the Cetra first arrived here. But they're wrong. The human race was primitive at that time, but they did know how to write. Some records have been found of that era. The Cetra didn't come here out of any benevolence on their part. They fled here to escape Jenova. They weren't looking to help us, they were trying to help themselves. They used our people to help us rebuild their own civilization on our planet. Sure, they gave us new technologies, but only things that we needed to know to help them. All the time they were helping us, they were planning on using us in their war against Jenova. A war that had nothing to do with us. Oh, they were clever, I'll give them that. The whole time they were here they fooled us into believing they were helping us. They pretended to be our friends to get us to do what they wanted us to do. We were slaves, and we didn't even know it. What better situation could you have?"

"That's...that's not true," Tifa said. The whole thing was just ridiculous. But if so, why did it sound so reasonable? Still, did that really matter? "We're not slaves of the Cetra. It didn't happen."

"No, it didn't," Gilan replied. "But only because a Jenova arrived here and interfered with their plans."

Tifa shook her head. This whole thing just seemed too complicated to her right now.

"Are you saying that Jenova was the good guy here?" she questioned.

"Not at all," Gilan replied. "Jenova wouldn't have thought twice about enslaving the human race, and would have been much more brutal about it. We wouldn't have been better with Jenova, oh no. But that doesn't automatically make the Cetra the good guys either. Neither of them gave a damn about the human race. They were only interested in their own gain."

Again Tifa did not reply. Something wasn't right. She was sure of it. She couldn't think clearly. She was sure this wasn't normal, but she had no idea how to snap herself out of it.

"Even so," she continued slowly. "Even if that's true, what difference does it make? All that happened thousands of years ago. What's it got to do with here and now?"

"There is still a Cetra left," Gilan replied pointedly. "I have no reason to believe her agenda is any different from what the Cetra agenda was originally."

"I don't understand," Tifa said. "Are you telling me that Aeris is trying to enslave the human race. By herself?"

"Don't underestimate the power of the Cetra," Gilan warned, his voice perfectly serious. "They can bewitch you without you even realizing it. What do you think she's doing here, with her church? What do you think her purpose is?"

"I don't know," Tifa replied, very confused. "I didn't think she had any purpose. She just wants to live her life, just like everyone else."

"That's exactly what she wants you to think," Gilan pressed. "That's the beauty of it. You do her bidding without even realizing it. As long as Jenova was a threat, we were safe, because she needed our help. You went out into space to stop Jenova, and you succeeded. but don't forget what Ellengio did. He was willing to start a war, to perhaps kill thousands or even millions of human beings, to save the Cetra."

"But Aeris was against it," Tifa replied. "She was horrified with what Ellengio did."

"Was she?" Gilan questioned. "Are you sure? How do you know that wasn't all set up, that she didn't do exactly what Ellengio wanted her to?"

Tifa shook her head. She didn't want to sit here arguing with the man. She wanted to leave. But for the life of her, should couldn't get herself to get up and walk out the door. It was as if she were rooted in place. She knew that was wrong, but she didn't know exactly why.

"Ellengio wanted her to oppose him?" she said. She couldn't follow what he was saying at all. "Why would he do that?"

"To cover all bases," he replied. "There was always a possibility his plan would fail. In that case, he knew there'd still be a Cetra around that you would trust. That's just the way the Cetra work."

Tifa shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

"What you're saying just doesn't make sense," she said. "I still don't understand why Aeris would want to enslave us. The whole idea is just...just..." she searched for the word. "Nonsense," she said finally. Yes, nonsense. That was it. Why had she had such a hard time thinking of that word?

"It may seem so," Gilan said calmly. He got and and stepped around the desk, coming up to stand right in front of her. "The Cetra are very clever. They make everything they say, everything they do, sound very reasonable. But there are different types of slavery. Let me ask you something. If someone locked you up in a very beautiful place, took care of all your needs, treated you fairly, yet never let you make any of your own decisions, how would that make you feel?"

Tifa frowned. It seemed a very difficult question.

"I don't think I'd like it much," she replied eventually.

"No you wouldn't," he replied. "Because no matter how well you were treated, you still wouldn't have your freedom. The Cetra had their own planet once. They have no one to blame but themselves for squandering it. This is _our_ planet. Humans. But now the Cetra want a say here as well. A say they have no right to. The Cetra are very powerful. We all know that. Even one Cetra can have a disproportionate effect on human affairs if she's allowed to interfere. I'm not going to allow that!"

For the first time, Gilan's voice took on an edge.

"But I don't think Aeris would be like that," Tifa replied, feeling helpless to dispute him.

Gilan looked at her for a moment, then took a deep breath. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. When he spoke again, his voice was very calm.

"Of course you don't," he replied. "As I said, the Cetra can sound very reasonable. It is difficult for a human to see through them. I don't expect you to change your attitude toward her in a day. All I ask is that you watch over her. Try to analyze what she does and why she does it. Perhaps you will see nothing at all. But on the other hand, if you do notice anything unusual, or see anything that might make you suspicious, then I'd like to ask you a favor."

"What is that?" Tifa asked.

"If you see anything like that, I'd like for you to tell me," he replied. "I'm not asking you to spy on her. I know you think of her as a friend. And maybe she's good enough to hide her real agenda from you. But you're probably closer to her than just about anyone else on the planet. If she's got any secrets, you'd be the most likely person to find out. If you happen to find something that shows that she really does have a hidden agenda, that she really is plotting against the human race, then don't you think your duty to your own race would be more important than your friendship? If she's plotting against us, then hasn't she already betrayed that friendship?"

Tifa lifted her hand and rubber her forehead. She felt dizzy.

"She's not plotting against anybody," she insisted. "She hasn't betrayed my friendship. Nothing like that is happening."

"Maybe not," Gilan replied. "But if it were, and you found out, will you tell me?"

Tifa dropped her hand and looked up at him. This was almost funny, the whole ridiculousness of the idea. She thought she should be laughing, but his seriousness seemed infectious. He really believed what he was telling her. How could he? How could be believe such nonsense? To think that Aeris, honest, open Aeris, could be plotting against them? You might as well accuse Marlene. It was preposterous.

Wasn't it?

"They'll be nothing to report," she tried again. "Aeris isn't like that."

"But if she is, if you do find out something?" he persisted.

Tifa looked at him nervously. She felt so uncomfortable, so confused. She didn't want to be here anymore. All she wanted to do was leave. Why wouldn't he let her go?

"All right, fine," she said finally. "I'll tell you if I find her plotting to take over the world. But she's not doing it, so I'm not going to find anything."

Gilan smiled.

"That's all I ask," he replied.

He glanced at the watch on his wrist.

"Thank you for your time, Mrs. Strife," he said. "It was nice to get to finally meet you. I'm afraid however, that I have some rather pressing church business to attend to. I must rush off. I'll have one of the alter boys escort you out, if you wish."

"No, that's fine, I can find my way," she said, getting up. She stumbled as she stood. Gilan reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Easy," he said. "Are you sure you're alright? You can stay here and rest, if you wish."

"No," she said, waving him away. "I'm...fine. I'll just be on my way."

The truth was, she wanted desperately to get out of this place as quickly as possible.

"Very well," he said. "Good day, and God bless."

Tifa just nodded. Gilan turned and walked out of the room. Tifa stood there for a moment. She still felt dizzy and disoriented. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself, then walked out of the room as well. She strode down the aisle and out of the church as quickly as she could manage. When she was out in the street once more she stopped again. She looked around. She had to stop for a minute and concentrate to decide where she was going now. Back to Aeris church. That was it.

She glanced back at the church, biting her lower lip. Everything that had happened in there almost seemed like a dream. Had she really met Gilan Bradford? Had she even gone in there at all?

Shaking her head, she turned and started down the street. Something had happened, though she was not quite sure what. The only thing she was really sure of was the splitting headache that now throbbed between her temples.


	5. The Investigation Begins

CHAPTER V

THE INVESTIGATION BEGINS

"Hey Rude."

Reno was at his desk. More specifically, he sat in a luxurious leather chair behind it, but he was not facing the desk. Instead his chair was turned around to face the plate glass window behind. His feet were propped up on the windowsill. A drink in his hand, he was admiring the panoramic view of Junon that lay beyond.

He took a leisurely sip from his drink.

"Rude," he called out again.

"What is it?" Rude replied in an irritated voice.

Reno pushed off the window sill, spinning slowly in his chair with his feet in the air. As they drifted over the desk he plopped them down on it with a thud, stopping his motion. Rude was sitting nearby, his feet planted firmly on the floor, a pile of papers strew across the top of the desk in front of him.

"What's with you?" Reno questioned.

Rude frowned at Reno and tapped his pen on the desk.

"In case you hadn't noticed there's a ton of paperwork to do," he stated. "It would make thing a lot easier if you could help instead of sitting there daydreaming."

"I'm not daydreaming," Reno protested. "I'm thinking. That's what a CEO does. He doesn't do paperwork, he comes up with ideas. He's got to look at the big picture. He's got to focus on that and let others take care of the little details. I'm thinking about the future of the Turks here man."

Rude just stared at him for a moment.

"Yeah, right," he said finally, going back to his papers. "I bet that little blonde girl you were talking to last night at that bar hadn't entered your thoughts at all."

Reno stared at him for a moment.

"Why are you doing that anyway?" he questioned. "You're a partner in this company. You should be looking at the big picture too. We have secretaries to do that stuff."

Rude stopped and looked up again.

"Yes we do," he agreed. "Unfortunately these papers are of a rather delicate nature. I could let one of the secretaries do this, but then I'd have to kill her afterward. Be tough to find good replacements with that kind of policy."

Reno downed the rest of his drink.

"So get Elena to do it," he suggested.

Rude shook his head slowly, not looking up.

"Unfortunately, these need to be done right," Rude replied ruefully. "Besides, do you see Elena around anywhere?"

Reno frowned.

"Yeah, she has been missing a lot lately. I'm gonna have to give that girl a little talking to. She can't expect to reap the rewards when we do all the work."

Rude looked up again. He didn't bother to point out that Reno wasn't doing all that much work either.

"What did you want, anyway?"

"Huh?"

"What did you want?" Rude repeated. "When you called me?"

"Oh, that. I wanted to know if you wanted to go check out that new bar later on."

"What new bar?"

"The Beer Stein," Reno replied. "The one down on Freemont St. They're having a wet t shirt contest tonight."

"What time?"

"I believe it starts at nine, but that doesn't mean we can't get there a bit early so we can get a good spot to observe from."

Rude looked at his watch.

"I don't think so Reno. I'm meeting Lai Li later."

Reno made a face.

"Lai Li, Lai Li, Lai Li," he muttered. "That's all I hear from you lately. You've known the girl for what, two months now, and already you're whipped?"

"I'm not whipped," Rude countered. "That's got nothing to do with it."

Reno plopped his feet onto the floor. He rested his elbows on his desk and leaned forward.

"Didn't you just see her yesterday? And the day before?"

"Yeah, so?" Rude answered.

"Whipped."

Rude just shook his head and went back to his paperwork yet again.

Reno stared at him. They had been sitting in the office all afternoon, Rude diligently doing his paperwork. When did the man become such a businessman?

"What's with you?" he said suddenly. "You've been doing paperwork all day long. You haven't even had one drink. You'd rather go see some girl than go out to a bar with your best bud. I'd just like to know one thing. Who are you and what have you done with the real Rude?"

Rude looked up at Reno, his face serious, but then he broke into a grin.

"I guess I have been taking things a little too serious lately," he admitted. He dropped his pen on the desk. "I don't have to meet Lai Li until eight tonight. We've got plenty of time, if you want to go down there now."

Reno pondered this for a moment.

"I guess that's as good as I'm going to get, isn't it?"

He stood up.

"All right, let's get going then. Perhaps after you've had a few drinks you'll come to your senses."

"Don't count on it," Rude replied, getting up as well.

They walked over to the door, but just as Reno reached for the knob it opened of it's own accord. Elena stepped in, almost walking right into him.

"Oh, hello," she said, stopping in her tracks. Behind her Vincent came to a halt as well.

Reno stepped back a pace.

"Well well well, the prodigal daughter returns," he stated. "To what do we owe this visit? I know you didn't come back here to get any work done."

Elena gave him a dark look.

"Actually, that's not exactly true," she said.

She stepped farther into the room, allowing Vincent to enter as well. Yuffie was right behind him. Reno eyebrow raised at the sight of her, but she ignored him.

"I got us a job," Elena announced.

"Oh really," Reno said. "Doing what?"

"Getting the dirt on Vanguard."

Reno thought about that for a moment.

"Vanguard," he repeated. "Isn't that that company that bought the Junon Power Company?"

"Uh huh," Elena replied. "And a lot of other companies as well. Not to mention they've been gobbling up choice pieces of land in a number of major cities like there's no tomorrow."

Reno nodded. Actually this wasn't really much of a surprise. Companies were always spying on one another. And he had heard a lot about Vanguard lately. It seemed to have appeared suddenly out of nowhere, and a lot of people were curious about the ownership and where it had come from. Actually he was surprised that no one had approached them sooner.

"Who's the client?" he asked.

"AVALANCHE," Elena replied.

Reno looked as if he were going to choke.

"AVALANCHE?" he repeated.

"Yes," Elena responded.

"What the hell do they want to know about this company for?" he blurted out, his eyes falling on Vincent and Yuffie.

Elena quickly told him about the man they had found in the forest and what had happened to him.

"That's all well and good," Reno said when she was done. "But...AVALANCHE?"

"Their gil's as good as anyone's," Elena pointed out tartly.

"Yeah, but..." Reno stammered.

"What's the matter, don't think you can handle the job?" Yuffie cut in suddenly.

Reno looked at her and frowned.

"Of course we can handle it," he said dismissively.

"So then what's the problem?" Vincent questioned.

Reno stood there for a moment, looking from one to the other. He really didn't have any valid protest, but for some reason, this prospect had never occurred to him.

Finally he shrugged.

"Fine," he said. "But if you think I'm going to take orders from Clod Strife, you've got another thing coming."

"Cloud's got other things to do right now," Vincent replied, ignoring Reno's mispronunciation. "I'm in charge."

"Great, we're going to have to take orders from fang boy?" Reno muttered. "That's hardly an improvement."

Vincent's eyes flickered dangerously, but he did not reply.

"Oh Reno, quit your whining," Elena cut in. "We've worked with them often enough by now. You should be used to it."

Reno folded his arms across his chest. They'd worked with them, yes, but never _for_ them before. Still, as Elena pointed out, their gil was as good as anyone's. Cloud wasn't with them. In spite of what he said, working with Vincent, a former Turk, probably wouldn't be too much of a hardship. Besides, it might be fun to go along with it just to annoy the hell out of them.

"Whatever," he conceded. He looked at Vincent. "So what brilliant plan do you have in mind?"

He was looking at Vincent, but it was Elena who spoke.

"We've already done a little checking," she said. "Vanguard's main headquarters is in Gongaga. Even that was difficult to pin down. They've got holdings all over the world, some of them in other company's names. They also have a large office here in Junon that runs the former Junon Power Company. It would probably be wise to check out both of those places."

"And just what is it that we're looking for?" Reno questioned. "You think they're starting up the Mako reactors again? You think we're dealing with another Shinra here?"

"That's the general idea," Vincent replied. "We'll split into two groups. Elena and I will go to Gongaga and see what we can find out at Vanguard's main office. Reno, you and Yuffie see what you can find out about the Power Company here in Junon."

Yuffie looked at Vincent sourly, but kept her mouth shut.

"Rude, you stay here and act as their back up," Vincent finished. "Do you think you can get us fake ID's?"

"I can do it," Rude replied. "But everyone in AVALANCHE is well known. You especially, with that metal arm, are instantly recognizable. I don't think either you nor Yuffie could pass yourselves off as someone else."

Vincent pondered that for a moment, then nodded.

"You're probably right. Just for Reno and Elena then. Yuffie and I can snoop around outside and see if we can sniff anything out, or help them out if they get in trouble."

Reno looked skeptical. He was obviously of the opinion that Yuffie wouldn't be of much help if he got into trouble. He would have protested being paired up with her, if he didn't know that it must bug her a lot more than it bugged him.

"And what if we find out that they are using Mako reactors, what then?" Reno questioned.

Vincent paused for a moment, then a feral smile appeared on his lips. Reno had known Vincent for some time now, and though he knew the smile was not directed at him, he still couldn't help but feel uneasy. He glanced at the others and he had a feeling most of them felt the same way.

"What do you think?" Vincent replied. "We call the others and we take them out."

* * *

Cloud stepped out of the Slipstream onto the grassy plain, the whine of the aircraft's engines slowly winding down. As the others exited the plane, he looked up at the familiar outline of the rooftops of Nibelheim.

He always got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach whenever he came back here. Which was probably why he avoided returning to this place as much as he could. Any fond memories he may have had were overshadowed by the horror of what had taken place here, and what it had become.

"Sorry we had to come here, but there was no way to land any closer to the reactor," Cid said, coming up beside him. They were all aware of how both Cloud and Tifa felt about their old hometown.

Cloud shrugged it off. Cid was right, there was no place to land the Slipstream up in the mountains. They would have to go through Nibelheim to get there.

"It's no big deal," Cloud replied. "Let's get going."

Without another word he walked swiftly toward the town. The others looked at one another, then followed.

Cloud tried to look straight ahead as they walked through the town, concentrating on their goal. But even with his tunnelvision he couldn't help but notice some of the details around him. He had been here before, so he knew what to expect, but that didn't make him anymore comfortable. Though the town had changed. New buildings had sprung up. The core of it was still there, however. When he reached the center of the town, it looked almost identical to how he remembered it.

He led the others onward as fast as his feet could carry him. The others followed a few steps behind. They all realized that the faster they passed through town the better off Cloud would be. He only paused once, as they passed by the well. He stopped for a moment and looked up at it. It hadn't changed at all. He could almost picture himself and Tifa sitting up there, that last night before he went away to join SOLDIER. A lot had happened here, but there were still a few fond memories. For a moment a smile almost appeared on his lips.

A sudden movement caught his eye. He looked down to see a small rubber ball bouncing along the ground. It hit the base of the well and bounced back, coming to rest just a few paces from his feet.

"Hey Mister!"

He turned to see a young blonde boy standing in front of a nearby house, looking at him. Two other children stood behind him, in the entrance to the house.

"Could you get my ball please?"

Cloud didn't reply, just stood there for a long time. After a while, the boy's face grew puzzled.

"Mister?" he said questioningly.

Cloud stepped forward, then stooped down and picked up the ball. He looked at it for a moment, but there was nothing remarkable about it. Then he lifted his head and tossed it back. The boy caught it.

"Thanks Mister!" he called out, then he and his two friends ran into the house.

Cloud stood there looking at the rather plain house they had disappeared into.

His house.

Reeve came up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You alright?"

For a moment Cloud didn't reply. He felt a strange constriction in his throat.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he managed to say. He brushed Reeve's hand away. "Let's go."

He started down the road again, walking even faster than before, if it was possible. They passed the old Shinra mansion without a word, and soon enough they were on out of the town once again, on the path that led from Nibelheim up into the mountains. The whole time, none of them said a word.

Cloud felt a little better once the streets of Nibelheim fell behind them. Still, he wouldn't really feel better until they were far away from here.

Apparently, the new inhabitants of Nibelheim had little reason to come up into the mountains. The trail was overgrown and in places barely recognizable. Cloud could understand. Now that the reactor no longer working (or at least, as far as they knew) there really wasn't any reason for anyone to come up here. The folks in Nibelheim (at least the one's he had known) had always had tales of dark creatures inhabiting the Nibel mountains, even before the reactor had been built. It was possible things might not be that different now.

Still, this was a trail Cloud wasn't likely to forget, no matter how long he had been away.

Thus it was that even when all sign of the trail vanished entirely, Cloud led them unerringly forward, until finally they came to the foot of the bridge at the base of the mountain the reactor stood on.

Cloud looked up eagerly, for the first time they could catch a glimpse of the old reactor. But if he thought the view would tell him anything he was disappointed. They were still far away, and couldn't see much, but from what he could see the reactor looked unchanged. If anyone was working on it, or if it had been reactivated, they couldn't tell from here.

"How are we supposed to get there?" Cid questioned.

The bridge was gone, having long ago fallen into disrepair. Only the posts that once held the ropes in place and a few rotted planks lying on the ground indicated that it had existed at all.

"There's another way," Cloud said. "Though the caverns. We're better off going that way anyway. Even when this bridge was here, it had a habit of collapsing at the most inopportune moments."

Barret was staring at the reactor.

"It doesn't look any different," he stated.

"I noticed," Cloud replied.

"This trail we've been following has obviously not been used in years," Red pointed out. "And with the bridge gone, there's no way anyone could have come through here recently. Not more than one or two people that is. Certainly not enough traffic has passed through here to restart the reactor. They'd need dozens, probably hundreds of people, and a lot of equipment too."

This wasn't a fact that had been lost on Cloud.

"I know," he replied. "Who knows? Maybe they came from the other direction, or maybe they built another way up here. They only way we're going to find out is to go to the reactor ourselves. This way."

He started down a steep slope, right along the edge of the cliff. The others followed carefully. After climbing down the slope a ways they came to a wide area where another old trail could be discerned. Cloud led them along that for a while, the reactor disappearing behind the mountains once again. To Cid, it seemed like they were going in the wrong direction now. He was tempted to ask Cloud if he was sure of the way, but didn't. Spike hadn't led them astray yet.

A short time later they came to an opening in the cliff face, a natural cavern carved in the rock. Cloud walked in without hesitation. The others followed, Cid last. The farther along they went, the more of a bad feeling he had about it.

A dim greenish light illuminated the cavern. Cid couldn't identify the source. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. It wasn't very bright, but it was light enough for them to see by.

Cid caught up with Red, who was next in line in front of him.

"What's that light?" he questioned.

"Mako," Red replied. "The hills here are filled with it. That's why Shinra built the reactor up here to begin with. There's tiny veins of it running through the cavern walls. Not enough to be worth extracting, but enough to give us some light to see by."

The party continued forward while the two talked. Cid noticed they passed a number of turn offs.

"Are you sure Cloud knows where he's going?" Cid questioned.

"It's alright Cid," Red reassured him. "We've been through here before. Right before we met you, actually. I remember the way too. Cloud is taking us in the right direction."

Cid feel silence, his concerned appeased, at least for the moment.

A few minutes later they emerged from the caves once more into a shallow bowl of land surrounded by tall hills. Cid looked around, but at this point he had no idea where they were.

Cloud led them up through the rocks. Cid could see no sign of a trail here at all. He wondered just how much longer this was going to take.

The ground leveled off again. Cloud had picked up the pace, walking forward rapidly now, but suddenly he stopped.

The others came up beside him. Cid looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"What's up?" he questioned. "Why are we stopping?"

For a moment none of the others replied.

"The fountain..." Cloud said finally.

"The what?" Cid questioned, but Cloud had already started forward again.

They all gathered around a circular outcropping of rock. Cid came up beside them. The rocks almost looked like some kind of well. He looked inside. The rocks formed a shallow bowl, but there was nothing in there except a few dead leaves from some of the nearby shrubs.

"It's gone," Cloud said.

"What is?" Cid asked, on the verge of exasperation. Of the others, only Nipala also looked puzzled.

"There used to be a natural Mako fountain here," Reeve answered him. " It must have been compressed in the hills and forced out."

"And Shinra didn't gobble it up?" Cid questioned.

"They didn't know about it," Reeve replied. "Otherwise I'm sure they would have."

"But didn't you tell me once that you came through here with Sephiroth?" Cid asked, looking at Cloud.

"Yes," Cloud replied after a moment. "But that was before Sephiroth went nuts. President Shinra had never exactly been a favorite of his. I don't think he would have told them."

They stood there for a moment in silence.

"So you think this happened naturally?" Barret asked. "Could it have disappeared on it's own?"

They all looked at Red.

"It's possible," the red beast replied. "Any number of geologic events could have cut off the supply. Although the fact that the land around the fountain seems unchanged would indicate against that."

They fell silent. Cloud reached out and pushed some of the rocks around inside what remained of the fountain, as if looking to see if he could find any remains. Finally he stood back up again.

"All right, I guess there's nothing more to see here. Let's keep going."

They followed him as he once again started off. He led them steeply upward now.

"Are we there yet?" Cid grumbled.

No one paid any attention to him. They wound their way up, coming over a steep ridge. The land leveled out, then rose yet again up another slope, on top of which the reactor stood.

"Yes we are," Cloud stated.

They paused for a moment to look at it again. They were much closer this time, but it still looked the same. They could make out some details now, enough to see that the place was still in disrepair. The paint was scratched and faded, the metal rusted. All around in front of the entrance lay debris.

Cid frowned.

"Looks pretty deserted to me," he stated.

Cloud nodded, but started forward nevertheless. He wasn't going to make any judgments until he'd thoroughly inspected the place.

Cid started to follow, but suddenly felt something strike him hard in the back. He fell forward into the dirt with a cry, his back stinging. He spun around, and for a moment saw a large hairy...something, but a second later it vanished.

"What the hell...?" he began.

Red was looking right at Cloud when a shaggy beast blinked into existence right behind the spiky haired warrior. Before Red had a chance to shout a warning the monster struck, slashing a clawed hand into Cloud's shoulder. The young man stumbled and spun around, but even as he did so the beast disappeared yet again.

Only to reappear behind Barret. It raised it's arm to strike, but Nipala had noticed it, and turned and leaped at it. It vanished immediately, and she landed on the ground, looking around wildly.

As if by instinct Red suddenly spun around to see that the beast was now right behind him. He leaped at it, and it vanished once again.

"What the hell's going on?" Barret shouted.

A clawed hand raked across Reeve's back. He cried out and fell to the ground, trying to pull out his shotgun. Cloud, who was nearby, raced over and swung his sword. It whistled through empty air.

"Some kind of teleportation beast!" Reeve yelled. He looked around. The beast suddenly reappeared behind Cid again. They were all looking around wildly now, and Cid spotted it before it could strike. He brought his spear forward, but it disappeared again. Red shook his head. It was all happening too fast. He didn't have time to think.

"So how do we fight it?" Barret exclaimed. He stood his ground, spinning around every few seconds. But even so the beast managed to appear behind him once more. It struck again. Barret cried out in pain as blood flew from his arm.

"Dammit!" he shouted, opening up with his gun, but it too late. The beast was already gone.

"Quick!" Red shouted. "Back to back everyone!"

Cloud spun around next to Reeve. Barret pulled Cid to his feet and they turned to face away from one another, while Nipala stood behind Red.

They all waited, weapons ready, but nothing happened.

"Is it gone?" Barret questioned.

Red shrugged. They didn't have enough information. He had never heard of a beast that could teleport before. He didn't know what distance it could travel, or how long it could vanish before reappearing. For all he knew, it could be miles away by now, or it could be just waiting for them to let down their guard. One thing was for sure, they couldn't stay like this forever.

Cloud suddenly turned around to face Reeve's back, lifting his sword.

"Cloud, what are you..." Cid began.

Almost immediately the beast reappeared, but almost at the same time, Cloud suddenly thrust his sword backwards, straight into the beast's abdomen. A high pitched shriek pierced the air, and the beast stumbled backwards and vanished. Almost immediately they heard something clattering in the rocks not far away. There was another shriek, and then all went silent.

Cloud climbed up onto a ledge where the sounds had come from. He looked around for a moment, then turned to the others.

"It's up here," he confirmed. "It's dead."

Red padded up the slope as well. He stopped in front of the creature and started to examine it.

"What an intriguing creature," he muttered. "The Elders will be very interested in this. And look at those protrusions on it's back. I wonder if they have anything to do with the teleportation process?"

Cloud looked at him for a moment, then shook his head and scrambled back down the slope. In the meantime, Reeve had taken out a cure materia and treated everyone's wounds, which, fortunately, all turned out to be minor.

"How'd you do that?" Barret questioned, looking at Cloud.

"It was obviously smart enough to attack us from behind," Cloud explained. "Earlier, we didn't know who it would show up behind, so we couldn't counter. But with all of you back to back, when I turned around I was only target available. I knew it would attack me."

"Very logical," Reeve agreed. "Now I suggest we move on. We don't know if there's any more of those creatures around."

Cloud turned to look at the ledge above them.

"You done up there Red?"

There was a moments hesitation, then, somewhat reluctantly, Red padded back down the slope.

They headed up the slope toward the reactor, Cloud convinced more than ever that something was going on. They had met another monster. It was true, not many people came up here anymore, it was possible that creature had just been a leftover from the old Shinra reactor, but the coincidences seemed to be mounting.

They reached the base of the reactor. They could see the whole thing now. It looked in even worse shape now that they could see it up close. Debris was strewn everywhere. The metal structure of the building itself was badly damaged, leaving gaping holes in the superstructure. Cloud stopped and listened, but he could not hear the deep throb of a running Mako reactor. All was quiet.

"If this place is running again, they're hiding it damn well," Barret muttered.

Again Cloud could not disagree. Still, they had come this far, he wasn't about to turn back now. His sword still in his hand, he walked up the steps and pushed open the rusted door.

The light was dim inside. Cloud looked around slowly. In spite of appearances, he held his sword out in front of him, ready to strike at a moments notice. The first thing that met his eyes were the rows of pods. They were still there, apparently unchanged, except now covered with a thick layer of dust. There was no sound in the room, no sign of occupation. The dirt covered floor looked like it hadn't been disturbed in years.

He slowly made his way farther inside, down to the base of the steps. He looked up at the door to the inner core, memories flooding back to him. He looked down at the steps and saw dark stains under the dust. He felt this throat going dry, remembering finding Tifa severely wounded there. He remembered lifting her up gently and moving her to the side, where she would be out of harms way. But he hadn't have time to tend to her. He had had to stop Sephiroth.

He looked up the stairs. The door above was open. A gaping hole of darkness beyond. Gritting his teeth, he slowly mounted the steps.

He hesitated a moment when he reached the top. The others were behind him, but he didn't turn to look at them. It almost seemed like they weren't there at all. Still there was no sound, no sign of occupation. Feeling strangely reluctant, he stepped forward again.

The next room was even darker, so dark he could barely see at all. The light filtering in from the other room, and a beam of light from one small hole in the wall producing the only illumination. Blankly he looked around. The empty podium where Jenova had been placed, where he had confronted Sephiroth what seemed like a million years ago, in front of him. All around it the machinery that ran the reactor, silent and dark. No one moved there, no wheels spun, or lights blinked. The place was deserted. There was nothing here.

He stood there a long time before finally turning to see the others standing in the doorway.

"There's nothing here," he said emotionlessly.

"It would appear that way," Red agreed, looking around.

The others said nothing. Without a word Cloud walked past them, and didn't stop until they were once more outside the reactor.

"I don't get it," Cid spoke up. "I thought sure the reactor would be reactivated."

"So did I,"Reeve said slowly. "Barret, what about the reactor in Corel? I know that's not as close, but it's the next nearest one."

"No way," Barret replied. "I had that thing dismantled. It was one of the first things I did after becoming Mayor."

"And no one could have rebuilt it?"

"Not a chance," Barret said bitterly. "I was out there just a month ago myself. There's nothing left there but an empty field."

"So what are we left with?" Nipala questioned. "Could this all have just been natural occurrences?"

"Again, it's a possibility," Red responded. "Seems like a strange set of coincidences, but it's possible."

Cloud was just standing there, staring off into space, looking at the mountains around them.

"What do you think, Spike?" Cid questioned.

They all turned to look at the blonde swordsman. Cloud didn't answer for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

"I don't know," he replied. "To tell you the truth, I was sure we'd find something here to. But no, I don't think all these things are a natural occurance. Something is going on, and no matter where we have to look or how long it takes, we're going to get to the bottom of it."


	6. The Not So Brilliant Plan

CHAPTER VI

THE NOT SO BRILLIANT PLAN

"You went to the Church of Humanity? Whatever possessed you?"

Tifa looked at Elmyra sheepishly.

"I'm not sure," she replied hesitantly. "I guess...I guess I just wanted to see for myself what the place looked like."

She, Elmyra and Aeris were sitting at the kitchen table at Elmyra's house, having just finished dinner. Tifa glanced at Aeris, who seemed unperturbed by Tifa's confession. Not that Tifa had expected any different.

"Well, I think that was a very dangerous thing for you to do," Elmyra admonished. "A girl in your condition, running around taking chances like that."

Elmyra gave a shake of her head for emphasis.

Tifa just sat there looking contrite. She didn't think she'd done anything all that dangerous. Just because she was pregnant didn't mean she had to sit around all day doing nothing. But she had a feeling pointing that out to Elmyra wouldn't do a bit of good.

"So what happened while you were there?" Aeris asked.

Tifa didn't reply for a moment.

"Kind of hard to say," she said finally. "I thought I'd just look around a bit, but Gilan Bradford recognized me."

At that Elmyra looked even more upset.

"He didn't do anything," Tifa continued quickly. "He was quite polite, actually. He took me into his office and we talked for a bit."

Elmyra looked at Tifa as if she had willingly walked into a den of lions.

"Tifa..." she began.

"It's alright mother," Aeris interrupted. "For all they've said, the Church of Humanity hasn't done anything to hurt anyone."

"And that rock through the window of your church?" Elmyra couldn't help but remind her.

"We don't even know if the Church of Humanity was responsible for that," Aeris replied.

Elmyra looked at her daughter for a moment. Who else could it have been? But she didn't say that. Aeris was right. They had no definite proof the Church of Humanity was responsible for that rock, even though every instinct told Elmyra they were. Even if they weren't directly responsible, Elmyra was certain that incident would never have happened if the Church of Humanity hadn't been saying the things it was saying. But she knew it was no use arguing with Aeris about it.

"So go on," Aeris prodded. "What did you talk about?"

For some reason Tifa felt uncomfortable continuing.

"He asked a lot of questions about you and the Cetra," Tifa replied slowly. "Wanting to know what you were like. It was strange."

"What was strange?" Aeris questioned.

"I don't know," Tifa replied. "I was kind of in a fog the whole time I was there. For some reason I couldn't seem to think straight. I don't know, maybe it was nothing. Maybe I was just a little bit sick. But it just seemed weird, almost like I was drugged or something."

"Drugged?" Elmyra said, the look on her face souring even more. "Did you have anything to eat or drink?"

Tifa shook her head.

"I don't think so. He offered me something to drink, but I declined. And then after I left, I had this splitting headache."

"Headache?" Aeris said, looking at Tifa carefully.

"No, it wasn't like those others," Tifa replied quickly. "The one's I was having earlier because of the mako infusion. This was different. This was just an ordinary headache, though it did seem to come on rather abruptly."

The headaches Tifa had been suffering from since the mako infusion had gradually diminished over time, until now they hardly bothered her at all. Red had surmised they were just been a residual effect of her body acclimating itself to the mako.

"But you're alright now?" Elmyra questioned.

"Yes, I'm fine," Tifa replied.

"So what did you tell him?" Aeris asked, getting back to the subject at hand.

Tifa frowned. To tell the truth, she couldn't remember very well what they had talked about.

"Nothing really," she replied. "I just told him you didn't seem any different to me than anyone else."

"That's all?" Aeris said, sounding a little disappointed. "How long were you there?"

"I...I'm not sure," Tifa replied, a bit defensively. "I told you, it was all very confusing. We talked for a few minutes, I guess, and then he told me he had business to attend to..."

Tifa fell silent, feeling flustered. She really hadn't said much to Gilan Bradford. It wasn't like she had told the man any dark secrets. So why did she feel like a schoolchild being questioned after having done something wrong?

Aeris looked at her thoughtfully, but Tifa could not read her expression.

"It does seem rather odd," she mused. "Perhaps I should pay them a visit myself."

"You'll do no such thing!" Elmyra blurted out.

Aeris head jerked up to look at her mother. For a moment neither one said anything.

"I don't think there's any danger in my..." Aeris began.

"I don't care," Elmyra stated bluntly. "You know how they feel about you there. They've said flat out that the Cetra are evil. I don't want you going anywhere near that place."

Tifa saw a hint of exasperation on Aeris face.

"Mother, don't you think you're overreacting a bit?"

"No, I don't think I'm overreacting," Elmyra returned adamantly. "You know what they've been saying about you. In spite of how you may feel about it, a lot of people, myself included, wouldn't put physical violence past them. What would be the point of you going there anyway, except to stir up trouble?"

"I'm not trying to stir up trouble," Aeris replied. "I'm just curious as to what happened to Tifa."

"I don't care!" Elmyra shot back, her voice tinged with anger. "I won't have you running around putting yourself in danger. Things are already bad enough as it is. I want you to promise me you won't go over there."

Aeris was silent, the both of them just looking at one another again. Finally Aeris turned to Tifa, who looked at her friend helplessly. The last thing she wanted in the world was to get involved in this argument.

"Promise me!" Elmyra repeated.

Aeris hesitated.

"I can't do that," she said finally. "You're not being reasonable."

"_I'm_ not being reasonable?" Elmyra snapped. "Aeris, you've seen how dangerous these people can be."

"No I haven't," Aeris replied calmly. "I've heard a lot of talk and I've seen a brick thrown by _someone_ through the window of my church. That hardly constitutes an assault. Tifa has been there and no harm came to her. She even said herself that they treated her politely."

For a moment Elmyra seemed at a loss for words.

"Treated _her_, maybe," she said finally, an edge of desperation in her voice. "But she's human. She's not a Cetra. How can you even think of going there when you know they're out to get you?"

Again they were silent. Tifa looked around for a convenient hole to disappear into, but there was none handy. Finally Aeris sighed.

"I can't talk to you when you're like this," she said softly. "I'll be out in the garden."

"Aeris!" Elmyra said, but the young Cetra had already turned away. Elmyra just stood there staring as Aeris walked out the door. For a long time she said nothing at all. Finally she looked at Tifa. She seemed close to tears.

"Am I wrong?"

Tifa didn't know what to say.

"No," she said gently. "There's nothing wrong with being concerned about your daughter. But Aeris is...different. You know that. You know she's going to do what she thinks is right, no matter what anyone else says."

Elmyra stood there for a moment looking at the door Aeris had disappeared through, then sat down heavily beside Tifa.

"I know," she said softly. "She'll do what she thinks is right, no matter what it might cost her. Or those who love her."

She looked up at Tifa.

"Was Ellengio like that?"

"Like what, exactly?"

"Always willing to sacrifice his own will to a 'higher calling'," she replied. "I wonder if it's, like, a trait of the Cetra or something."

Tifa was silent for a moment. She hadn't really ever thought about that. She really didn't think of Aeris and Ellengio being similar at all. But what had Ellengio done? He had tried to release his people from their prison, no matter how misguided it might have been. And she was also certain that he would have done just about anything to succeed, even if it had meant sacrificing himself.

What that so different?

And if that were so, what exactly was Aeris' 'higher calling', Tifa thought abstractly. She had always admired Aeris. Her ability to stand up for herself, her single mindedness in pursuing what she believed was right, no matter what anyone else said or thought. Elmyra wasn't even Tifa's mom, but if she had said to her what she had said to Aeris, Tifa knew she would have agreed. Perhaps she was just weak, but she thought it was more than that. She just didn't have Aeris rock solid conviction that what she was doing was right. Tifa had doubts, about almost everything. She could understand how Aeris felt, but she could see Elmyra's point too. Reeve had made some good points in his argument that the Church of Humanity had overstepped it's bounds and deserved to be shut down. At least to her, they had sounded reasonable. She didn't know who was right. She just didn't have the kind of faith Aeris had in her own beliefs, and sometimes she wished she did.

Aeris had sacrificed herself for the Planet. But how does one determine what's best for the Planet? Obviously with Sephiroth calling meteor, the situation was pretty clear cut. But what if it wasn't? What about now? Would it be in the best interests of the Planet for the Cetra to die out? Or was there some other motive here that Tifa might not even be aware of? She hadn't mentioned what Gilan Bradford had said, hadn't mentioned his belief that Aeris was trying to control the human race, trying to enslave them somehow. She wondered now why she hadn't said anything about it. Just because it was so preposterous? What other reason could she have?

"In a way, yes," she replied. "They were similar. I guess that's to be expected. Still, I don't know whether you would consider that a trait. I'm certainly not an expert on the Cetra, but my impression is that they're a lot like us. They're all different, all unique. Some of them are caring and loyal and brave, and some are selfish and cowardly, and some are in between. I don't think you can draw any conclusions on Cetra behavior from just the two of them."

Elmyra nodded slowly.

"I suppose," she said. "I just wish...oh, I don't know what I wish. Aeris has given so much. You all have. I know she doesn't listen. She never did. And I hate to admit it, but usually she's been right not to. But still, sometimes I don't think she realizes what she does to those who care about her. I think in her zeal she tries to take on things too much by herself. Even...even when you were fighting Sephiroth, if she hadn't left you behind, if she would have told you her intentions, you all might have been able to help her. And she might not have...died, in the first place."

Elmyra looked down at the ground, her face gray. Even after all this time, even after Aeris had been resurrected, her death was still something that Elmyra had difficulty talking about.

"I know," Tifa replied, putting her hand on the other woman's arm. "But we don't know that. For all we know, Aeris made the only choice that could save us all."

Elmyra did not reply for a long time. Finally she looked up, a wistful expression on her face.

"She was always so different. I remember once when she was six years old. She was playing out front, and I was making lunch. But when I went out to get her she was gone. I looked all over, but I couldn't find her. By afternoon we had practically the entire sector looking for her. It was hours she was gone, and I was worried sick. I finally found her in that old church. You know, the one back in Midgar. Even then it was abandoned and broken down, looking ready to collapse at any moment. I was so relieved to find her and yet so angry. I wanted to strangle her and hug her to death at the same time. I couldn't help but cry, but she didn't seem to understand why I was so upset. When I told her that I was afraid something might have happened to her, she just said for me not to ever worry, cause the Planet would always take care of her."

Elmyra sighed and played nervously with her hands.

"The Planet would take care of her," she repeated. "She's not afraid to die. To her death is just another step on her journey. Something that needn't be feared. For her that may be true. But what about us? What about me? It seems I've spent my whole life worrying about her. When she...when Sephiroth did what he did, I could hardly stand it. If I hadn't had Marlene to be concerned about at the time I don't think I would have survived. All I know is I missed her so much I couldn't stand it. And then when she came back to me. When you all brought her back. That was the happiest day of my life. But it seems like, if anything, I'm even more worried about her now. I lost her once, I don't know what I do if it happened again..."

There were tears in her eyes now. She wasn't looking at Tifa, just staring down at her hands, looking defeated. Tifa had never seen her look like this, her face so grey, the lines of worry so prominent.

"I'm sorry," Tifa said. It didn't seem to mean much, but it was all she could think of. "She's not my daughter, but I feel the same way sometimes. All her friends do. We all worry about her."

Elmyra sniffed and looked up into Tifa's eyes. She managed a pale smile and patted Tifa's hand.

"I know you do," she replied. "And I'm glad I have someone here who I can talk to about this, someone who will understand. I'm so glad she has a friend like you."

Tifa smiled in return, yet these words did not comfort her, instead they left her feeling vaguely embarrassed. She didn't really feel worthy of this praise. She considered Aeris her best friend, but she really couldn't say exactly how close they were. Like everything else when it came to Aeris, it seemed, it wasn't simple to define. When they first met they had been rivals for Cloud's affection. Even now, she had to admit she still felt jealous sometimes of Aeris' beauty and ability to become the center of attention merely by entering a room. She had never talked about it with Aeris, but she wondered if the Ancient was even a little bit jealous of her. After all, Cloud had chosen her, and though Aeris had taken it graciously, who was to say there wasn't a little bit of hurt or anger still lingering there? It was only human right?

Except Aeris wasn't human, at least, not completely, she reminded herself. So who could say? Tifa had been willing to give her life for her friend, but in truth, she had been doing that for Cloud more than Aeris. And it wasn't like they engaged in a lot of 'girl talk'. Aeris hadn't struck her as the type of person who would be interested in that sort of thing, and since Sephiroth destroyed Nibelheim, she hadn't been either. Tifa had never opened up to Aeris about how she felt, just like it had taken her forever to open to Cloud. She was just too shy. And Aeris had never brought it up. She really couldn't say just what their relationship was, exactly. She knew Aeris cared for her. But that was to be expected. Aeris cared for everyone she knew.

Still, Tifa realized Elmyra didn't need to hear any of that. What she needed was some comfort.

"She'll be fine," she said as reassuringly as she could muster. "Perhaps she's right. Perhaps this thing is being blown out of proportion, and nothing will come of it in the end. But even if it does, we're still here for her. I'll keep an eye on her, and make sure she doesn't do anything rash."

Elmyra smiled again, a smile that looked much more genuine this time.

"Thank you Tifa," she replied. "You're a true friend."

She looked up again, at the vacant doorway. The smile quickly faded from her face, the years seeming to press on it more than ever.

"I just don't know what's going to become of her."

* * *

"So what's the plan?"

Reeve looked at the others gathered around the table. They sat in the living room of Barret's house in Corel. On the table in front of them lay a map of the region that Cloud was pondering intently. Barret sat beside him, not paying much attention to the map. Red and Nipala lay on the floor nearby. Marlene lay on her back on the floor beside them, her head resting against Nipala. Cid had gone to pick up Yuffie and drop her, Vincent and Elena off at Turk headquarters in Junon.

"Or do we have a plan?" Reeve finished.

After finding the mako reactor deserted they really hadn't had any idea what to do, so they had decided to head to town to regroup and think things over. Nibelheim had been the nearest town, but they all knew how Cloud felt about his old hometown, and none of them had suggested they stay there. Corel, with it's central location, had seemed the next logical choice. So here they were, sitting in Barret's house pondering their next move. Pondering for quite some time now, actually, but none of them were exactly shouting out ideas.

No one replied. Cloud just continued to stare at the map, as if he looked at it long enough the answer would just magically come to him. Barret seemed bored with the entire process, and seemed just to be wanting for someone to come up with an idea so they could get going. Red seemed to be asleep. Nipala was looking down at her paws.

"Marlene, what do you think?" Reeve asked. She seemed to be the only one who was paying attention.

"Huh?" Marlene questioned, turning her head to look at him.

"Nothing," Reeve stated with a smile.

"Well, it's obvious that none of the old reactors are the cause of the problem," Cloud finally said, stirred out of his lethargy. He still had his eyes on the map, even as he spoke.

"So what are we left with?" he continued. "Either this is some natural phenomena or there's a reactor somewhere that we don't know about."

"But where?" Reeve questioned. "A mako reactor isn't something that's easy to hide."

"I know," Cloud replied. "Whatever the source, from the contacts we've had, it's got to be somewhere in the Nibel Mountains. The monster Cid and his family ran into came down the river from the mountains, and the guy Vincent and Elena met was near Lucrecia's falls. In his condition, I don't see how he could have traveled very far."

Barret, finally seeming to take an interest, peered down at the map.

"That still leaves a lot of room to search," he stated. "The mountain range covers a large area, and it's some of the most rugged country around. There's nothing there."

"Which would tend to indicate a natural source," Red spoke up. Reeve glanced over at him. It seemed he wasn't asleep after all.

"Unless that's what they want us to think," Cloud said slowly.

"So, you think someone has built a new reactor somewhere in the mountains?" Reeve questioned.

"I don't know," Cloud replied. "But if they are their intentions can't be good."

"And if it's just a natural occurrence, then we're all getting worried over nothing," Nipala pointed out.

"True, but can we take that chance?" Cloud replied. "We all know what kind of danger a mako reactor represents. If we hunt for it and it's a natural occurrence, then we're just wasting some time. If we don't hunt for it, and it's a new reactor, well, I think you can all come up with your own consequences."

None of them replied for a moment. They all knew Cloud was right. They had to find out, one way or another. Reeve leaned forward and looked down at the map as well.

"So you think we should search the entire area?"

The Nibel Mountain range covered a huge area. Trying to find something even as large as a mako reactor would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Well, maybe not quite that bad, but it would still be a daunting task.

"I don't see that we have much choice," Cloud said.

Red frowned.

"That would probably take months," he observed.

"I know," Cloud said, obviously not pleased himself with the prospect. "But what other choice do we have?"

Red seemed about to answer, and then apparently changed his mind. He looked away. It was hard for Cloud to read the red beast's expression, but he seemed unhappy.

"Can you come up with a better idea?" Cloud pressed.

Red paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"Unfortunately no," he replied.

Cloud didn't answer. It wasn't going to be easy, but Red would have been one of the last one's he would have expected to object. Barret would have been at the top of his list, considering the man's patience, or lack thereof.

"Well," Reeve said slowly, still looking at the map. "It's not entirely random. Like Cloud said, the man who Vincent and Elena met probably didn't travel very far. I think we should concentrate our search near Lucrecia's falls, at least in the beginning."

"Why don't we just get Cid to overfly the area?" Barret suggested. "If there's a mako reactor down there, don't you think he'd be able to spot it?"

"We can certainly ask him to do that," Red replied. "It might greatly simplify things."

"But we don't have any guarantee he'll see anything," Cloud said. "Those mountains are rugged, with lots of deep valleys. Plus, if it really is a reactor, they might be deliberately concealing it from the air."

"Like with camouflage?" Barret said.

"Yes," Cloud responded. "It's not certain an air search will turn up anything."

"But it couldn't hurt to try," Barret said.

"No, of course not," Cloud replied. "In fact, I guess that'll be at the top of the 'to do' list, as soon as Cid get's back."

"It would have made things a lot simpler if that guy had survived," Barret lamented. "He could have just told us what happened to him."

"If we could ever have gotten anything coherent out of him to begin with," Red replied. "Most people who have that large an exposure don't survive anyway."

"That's all water under the bridge anyhow," Cloud pointed out. "The fact of the matter is, he didn't. If we're going to solve this little mystery, it's going to be without his help."

"I have another suggestion," Reeve spoke up. "It will be difficult for us to search through the mountains no matter what we do, but I can get Cait to help. He'd probably be ideal for the task, now that I think about it. He doesn't have to rest, he just has to come in and recharge his batteries. But he only has to do that about every third day. He could search twenty four hours a day, every day, otherwise."

"That would be great," Cloud responded. "Are you sure you can get him to do it?"

"Of course," Reeve said. "I think his program can handle it without any alterations. We'll just have to go pick him up."

"Okay," Cloud said, satisfied that they were at least getting somewhere.

"Even with Cait, it still won't be an easy task," Red said. "It might still take months."

"Oh don't be so pessimistic," Reeve spoke up. "We might find it right away."

"Not likely," Red replied, ignoring Reeve's request.

"I don't care how long it takes," Cloud said. "I'm going to find out what's going on. One thing's for sure, I'm not going to let Vanguard turn into another Shinra."

Reeve nodded. He supposed that was the thought in the back of all their minds. They had already had to put up with a company that was trying to run the world. They had beaten Shinra, but it hadn't been easy. In fact, Reeve suspected that good luck had had a lot to do with it. They couldn't depend on their luck remaining that good a second time. If Vanguard was up to something, better to find out now, before they became too powerful, than later on, when it might be too late to stop them.

"In the meantime, maybe the Turks will find us something to go on," Nipala said.

"Maybe," Cloud replied. "There's too many maybes. I guess it's too late to start looking today. But the time Cid gets back it'll already be dark. We'll have to get started tomorrow morning."

He didn't look too happy about that. And in truth, he wasn't. He wasn't happy at all. He wanted to get to the bottom of this, as quickly as possible. He didn't believe for a minute that this was a natural phenomenon. He was certain it was man made, and he was just as certain that Vanguard had something to do with it. Perhaps he was being cynical, but with all that had happened, who could blame him? His thoughts paralleled Reeve's. He suspected the rise of another Shinra, and no matter what he had to do, he wasn't going to let that happen.

With the brainstorming session over, Barret went over and flopped down on the couch, grabbing the newspaper and opening it up. Marlene got up and went over to sit beside him. Red padded over to the window and looked out to the south. Cloud stayed where he was, continuing to look over the map, the wheels still turning. Reeve glanced at Red and then went over and crouched down beside Nipala.

"Red seemed a little...I don't know, uneasy," he said, soft enough so that only she could hear. "Is something bothering him?"

Nipala glanced over at Red's back before replying.

"He didn't know this was going to take so long," she replied.

"I see," Reeve said. "He misses the canyon."

"It's not only that," Nipala continued. "He's been under a lot of pressure lately. The canyon is expanding, and he's been asked to make a lot of decisions. Yet he's away quite a bit. Some of the Elders are discontent."

Reeve looked surprised.

"Discontent?" he repeated.

"At Red's wandering," she said. "They think he should stay at the canyon, should be taking care of business there, instead of gallivanting all over the countryside with AVALANCHE."

Reeve pondered that for a moment. He had had no idea that kind of pressure was being exerted on his friend.

"But Bugenhagen wanted him to go with AVALANCHE," he said. "His grandfather wanted him to experience the world."

"And he did," she replied. "But now some of the Elders think he's gone too far in that direction. They say Red's travels should only have been a temporary thing. He has seen the world, but now it's time for him to return to his people and put what he has learned to good use for the canyon."

Reeve shook his head. Nothing was ever simple, was it?

"So what could the consequences be? They can't like, throw him out as the protector, can they?"

"That would not be an easy thing," Nipala replied. "Though I believe it would not be impossible. I'm sorry, I'm not an expert on Cosmo Canyon law. I haven't lived there long enough. I don't know for sure what they could do, if anything. But even if they don't do anything, I know it bothers Red to even hear that sort of talk, to have someone suggest he's not doing his best for the canyon."

Reeve nodded. He knew how much Red loved Cosmo Canyon. After all Red had done, it annoyed Reeve that the Elders, of all people, would say such things about him. Hadn't be been willing to give his life for the canyon the time the Healer's minions had overrun it? Hadn't his going with them originally helped save the entire planet? Hell, if Red hadn't been with them when they had faced Sephiroth, they might never have succeeded in defeating him. Wasn't all that enough the give the poor guy a break?

"All the Elders think this?" he asked.

"No, of course not," Nipala replied. "Some support him wholeheartedly. Most do, I think. But there is a small but vocal minority, led by Elder Hargo, who disagrees. But even that is enough to upset Red."

As it would anyone, Reeve supposed. Still, it sounded like a disagreement, but nothing earth shattering.

"Well, you can't expect everyone to agree with everything someone does, no matter who they are," Reeve stated. "It's probably all just much ado about nothing."

"Perhaps," Nipala replied, with a tilt of her head. "But I know it bothers Red, even if it's nothing important. He wants to do what's right, and if this really is what Cloud suspects, then he'll be perfectly justified in helping out. No one wants a repeat of what happened with Shinra. But if he spends a lot of time on this and it turns out to be nothing, I'm afraid they're going to give him a hard time once he returns to the canyon."

Reeve rubbed his chin thoughtfully. First as a Shinra employee, then as Mayor of Ifalnia, he had learned all the ins and outs of the political game. He was used to people trying to undercut his authority, usually for their own gain. But he had a feeling Red wasn't used to that sort of thing. He was still young in the years of his people, and had really only borne the burden of leadership for a short time now. It was natural as the leader to try to please all your people. But Reeve knew from long experience that was impossible. No matter what you did, or what good you attained, there was always someone more than willing to tear you down. You got used to it after a while. Expected it, even. But it did take some getting used to.

"I've had some experience with this sort of thing," he said aloud. "I'll talk to him. This is the right thing to do, no matter what some of the Elders might say. He shouldn't take it personally."

Nipala nodded.

"Thanks Reeve," she replied gratefully. "Since Bugenhagen died, he only has me to confide in, and like I said, I'm a newcomer, I'm not really up on Cosmo Canyon politics. The Elders are helpful, but they're obviously more concerned about the canyon than about him. I think if would help if he had a friend to talk to."

Reeve nodded. It appeared the mysterious source of mako was not their only problem. Aeris still had to contend with the Church of Humanity back in Ifalnia, and Red was having trouble in Cosmo Canyon. It seemed they had a host of issues to deal with. But the easiest way to solve all their problems was just to find the mako source as quickly as possible. Then they could deal with the other issues that much sooner. One thing was for sure, he had a feeling they were going to be putting in some long hours in the next few days.


	7. Working Stiffs

CHAPTER VII

WORKING STIFFS

"What a dump," Yuffie observed.

Reno didn't reply, but looking around the hotel room he had to agree. Though Rude had booked them in one of best hotels in Gongaga, it impressed neither of them. Even after the Healer had cleaned it up, Gongaga was still a working town, with neither the money or pedigree of Wutai or Junon, nor the resources of Corel. It wasn't a tourist town. There was nothing here that was particularly scenic. It didn't have a lot of the amenities expected in a large corporate town. It wasn't along a major trade route. There wasn't anything here that would appeal to big business, and Reno had to wonder why Vanguard had picked it as the home of their headquarters. The only reason he could think of was that they just didn't want to draw attention to themselves.

Reno picked up an envelope that was lying on the bed.

"What's that?" Yuffie questioned.

"My cover ID," Reno replied, ripping open the envelope. Half a dozen papers and cards spilled out onto the bed. Rude had used some detective work to find out what kind of people Vanguard was looking to hire. Reno sat down on the bed and sifted through them.

"My name is Marshall Mathers," he told her. "I'm an acquisitions expert from Mideel. I've got an appointment to meet someone named Darren Blume at Vanguard headquarters at 3:30." Reno glanced down at his watch. "Damn, that's only an hour and a half from now. You think Rude could have cut it a little closer?"

"Marshall Mathers," Yuffie mouthed. "What kind of name is that?"

"What's wrong with it?" Reno replied.

"Sounds stupid," Yuffie responded distastefully.

Reno frowned.

"So does Yuffie, but I wasn't making any comments."

"What's wrong with Yuffie?" the young ninja snapped.

"Sounds stuuupid," he replied, mocking her whiny tone.

She looked daggers at him.

"Oh shut up Reno! Unless you'd like to eat sherukin for lunch."

"Yeah, yeah, threats, threats," Reno replied dismissively as he continued to look through the papers. "You know what your problem is? You're too predictable. It's so easy to figure out exactly what it takes to get under your skin. Your precious town, your heritage. Just pick on one of those things and you go off the deep end, you act irrationally, and you end up making mistakes."

The smoldering look in Yuffie's eyes just deepened at these words.

"Hey, I'm not ashamed of that," she snapped. "I'm proud of my town and my heritage."

"I'm sure you are," Reno replied. "But that's not the point. The point is you shouldn't be so obvious about it. You shouldn't wear your heart on your sleeve like that. Because when people know they can say something that bothers you, then they have an advantage. They have a weak point that they can exploit."

"Reno, you don't know anything," Yuffie shot back. "My feelings for my town aren't a weakness, they're a strength. They form a bond between me and all the people of Wutai."

"It's not a strength when it causes you to do stupid things," Reno returned. "And challenging someone when they insult your town is stupid. That's why you'd never make a good Turk."

Yuffie looked at him like she was ready to snap his neck.

"So what am I supposed to do, just ignore it?" she questioned. "Just walk away if someone insults me? Are you trying to tell me that's what the Turks do?"

Reno held up his hand.

"Let's make a distinction here. We were talking about your town, not about you. What's Wutai anyway? It's just a location. Just a spot on the map. It doens't mean anything."

Yuffie looked at him incredulously.

"You are _so_ wrong!" she blurted out.

"Am I?" he replied. "Wutai is no different from any place else. Yeah, you grew up there, but so what? You could have grown up anywhere, and you'd feel the same ties to where ever that happened to be. So what's the difference? If you left Wutai and went somewhere else, I bet that in a few months you'd feel the same about the new place as you do now about Wutai. Loyalty isn't all it's cracked up to be."

Yuffie opened her mouth, then shut it again. She couldn't believe he didn't see just how wrong he was. How could two people have opinions that were so diametrically opposed. Were they from different planets or something? Then she thought of something.

"You don't know what you're talking about Reno," she said. "The truth is that _you_ don't have any loyalty to your hometown. And who could blame you, growing up in the slums of Midgar? If that's where I'd come from, I would probably feel the same way. In fact, I'd probably be ashamed to admit it. Growing up in a warped and perverted environment like that, it's no wonder you have a skewed sense of reality. But it's not like that everywhere. Just because your childhood sucked, doesn't mean everyone's did."

He slowly stood up, his face expressionless.

"Do you really think that growing up in Wutai was so much better?" he questioned. "Midgar was a hellhole. I'm glad is was destroyed. But for all it's faults, when it came down to it, it still managed to kick Wutai's ass, now didn't it?"

Yuffie's face clouded with anger.

"And what was Wutai after that?" he continued. "They were lucky that Midgar was so generous with the surrender terms. Midgar occupation forces controlled Wutai for three years after the war, before they left. Tell me, you were there, how did that feel? You were growing up then, right? How did it feel to have foreigners controlling your precious town, making all the decision while Godo rubber stamped them? That your father, the Lord of Wutai, was a laughing stock?"

He took a step toward her.

"Reno..." she growled.

"And how did it feel after that, after they left, having taken everything of value, and no one being able to lift a finger to stop them. How did it feel to know they had raped the town of all it's resources, that you had nothing left?"

"Shut up Reno," she snarled.

But he didn't.

"How did it feel to open up all your sacred temples to tourists? To unbelievers who knew nothing of your culture, just so you could survive? How did it feel when you had to bow to..."

Before he could finish she lunged at him. He stepped deftly to the side, and her blow caught only empty air. He grabbed hold of her exposed arm, twisting it round so that she tumbled to the ground.

She spun around, on her feet again in seconds. Reno just stood there with his arm folded in front of him.

"Predictable," he stated.

She grabbed hold of his collar and pulled him to her, bringing back her fist. He did not resist. The look on his face made her hesitate.

"I'm not going to fight you," he said. "We're on a mission, remember? I just wanted to make a point. Turks don't let personal feelings get in the way of what needs to be done, and neither should you. You insulted Midgar a moment ago. You did it to get me angry. That was pointless, because you were right, and I really don't give a damn about Midgar. But even if I did, I would have reacted the same way. When you get angry you lose control, and when you lose control you make stupid mistakes, like you did just now. That's a weakness. Never tell anyone your weaknesses, no matter who they are, no matter how long you've know them."

Yuffie stood there for a moment without saying anything. Finally she let go of him.

"You are sooo cynical," she said bitterly.

"I'm a realist," he countered. "Never, _never_, let someone know that they've gotten to you, no matter how much it hurts. Even if it's accidental, even if it's your best friend in the world."

"They wouldn't be my best friend if I couldn't tell them things like that," Yuffie sighed.

"You never know when today's best friend is going to be tomorrow's enemy," Reno replied. "Now I'd love to continue this little discussion, but I've got to get ready to go to that meeting."

He started to unbutton his shirt.

"All right, "Yuffie said. "I admit I might be a little hot headed, and that might be a drawback on some occasions, but I still don't think you know what you're talking about."

Reno pulled his shirt off. He walked over to the entrance to the bathroom.

"Whatever," he said. "I'm going to take a shower now. Care to join me?"

Yuffie gave him a sour look.

"I think not," she replied. "I'm going back to my room."

The red haired Turk shrugged.

"Your loss."

Yuffie glanced down at the papers on the bed.

"Hey, is this a map of their headquarters?" she questioned.

Reno stepped over and glanced at it.

"Yup."

"I think I'll take it with me," she said. "This way I'll have some idea of what the place is like when I go check it out later."

Reno hesitated a moment.

"Don't you think that's a bit premature? Why don't you let me get inside and look around before you go snooping around outside."

"Whatssamatter?" she questioned. "Afraid I'm going to get caught?"

He gave her a knowing look.

"Well, with your track record, I have to admit the thought crossed my mind."

Yuffie frowned.

"I know how to take care of myself."

Reno rolled his eyes quickly so she wouldn't notice.

"Now where have I heard that before?" he muttered.

He unbuckled his belt and pulled it off. Yuffie snatched up the map.

"Well, I'm outta here," she said, walking over to the door that led to the adjoining room.

"Fine," he said.

She turned to look back at him.

"So all those things you just said..." she said hesitantly. "You were saying them just to get me mad? You didn't really mean them?"

Reno looked at her for a moment.

"No, not really."

Yuffie nodded slowly.

"Even the part about my name being stupid?" she added.

The Turk hesitated a moment.

"No, that was true," he said finally.

She stood there for a moment.

"I hate you!" she snapped.

Reno grinned.

"Good, then I must be doing something right," he replied.

But it was too late, the door to the other room had already slammed shut.

* * *

"Good afternoon Mr. Mathers. I'm Darren Blume. Welcome to Vanguard."

The man's handshake was firm, but seemed a bit too vigorous to Reno. The kind of handshake that came from a man who thought he had something to prove. He had short brown hair and a thin mustache, both neatly groomed. His grey suit looked like it had been made to order, and fit him like a glove. Typical corporate wonk was the label that came to Reno's mind.

They were in an office on the third floor of the Vanguard building. The structure itself was on the outskirts of town, in a wooded area not far from the old reactor. The entire complex covered over thirty acres, but a lot of it seemed to be virgin woodland at the moment. The Vanguard building itself stood not far from the entrance. Though thoroughly modern, and obviously brand new, it's concrete and glass gleaming in the sunlight, Reno had failed to be impressed when he stepped out of the car that had been sent for him. The building was only five stories high, and for all it's newness, looked quite ordinary. If it was a good first impression these people were after, Reno thought ruefully, they could have taken a lesson from Shinra.

But once he entered his impression of the building went up a notch. In fact, he was downright impressed. The lobby was huge. It seemed to go on forever in all directions. The floor was white marble tile with gray streaks. The walls were white as well, with recessed lighting between rows of paintings by easily recognizable contemporary artists. Not that the extra lighting was needed, as the large windows in the front of the building seemed to focus the sunlight throughout the room. Black modular furniture completed the look. A wide staircase led up to the next floor in the center of the room. The whole place was immaculate. Reno had to admit it got his stamp of approval.

Not only was the main entrance huge, but he soon found out the entire complex was as well. The structure had been built on the side of a hill, and it appeared the contractors had tried to keep the setting as natural as possible. Trees and the contour of the land concealed just how large the building was. It took him almost twenty minutes walking down halls that seemed to go on forever before he finally found the office he was looking for.

The office itself was decorated in the exact same motif as the main lobby, and in fact every room in the building that Reno had come upon. It seemed that Vanguard had coordinated all the offices to fit in, and that individual tastes were not part of the equation. All part of the corporate mindset, Reno thought. Just like a bunch of worker ants in the hive, and Mr. Blume seemed to fit in perfectly.

"I've looked over your resume," Mr. Blume said, looking down at an open folder on his desk. "I must say, I'm quite impressed. Eight years with the Shinra Electric Company, and three years with Wutai Power and Light. We've been looking for someone with ties to Wutai. We're very interested in expanding in that area. I've heard they've got some of the best people over there. I believe they've recently been working on a new solar cell that stores 50 more power than the cells currently on the market. What can you tell me about that?"

Reno hesitated a moment. They weren't wasting any time testing him. Good thing he had done his homework.

"You mean the EP50," he stated. "I'm afraid it's not all it's cracked up to be. They've increased the storage capacity all right, but the cell has a nasty tendency to burn out without warning. Until they get that little problem out of the way, it's not going to be a viable product."

Mr. Blume paused a moment, then nodded.

"Good," he said. "Management was a bit concerned about that. Anyway, it's good to have you aboard. Let me show you around a bit. It's a big place, it's easy to get lost."

"So I've noticed," Reno commented.

For the next two hours Mr. Blume led Reno around the complex. The entire time the man kept up a running commentary, babbling on and on so incessantly that Reno began to wonder if he had been a tour guide prior to his being hired here. But in spite of that the Turk also had to admit that he was learning a lot.

The Vanguard complex was practically a city unto itself. What couldn't be found in the main building itself was nearby. Apartments, shopping mall, eatery, entertainment, laundry services, and a sports complex were all in the building or a mere stone's throw away. The employees never really had to leave the place at all, if they didn't want to. Hell, after Mr. Blume showed him one of the apartments he was tempted to stay here himself. The employees were encouraged to do so, and with an employee discount, they were much cheaper, not to mention much nicer than the hotel he and Yuffie were staying in. Unfortunately, if he stayed here, he would have no way to stay in contact with Yuffie.

Eventually they made there way down to the first floor again, but in another section of the building from the main lobby. They walked down a long hall, like they had been for what seemed like ages, and came to a pair of double doors.

"And finally, here's where you'll be spending most of your time," Mr. Blume said.

They walked through the doors and Reno saw they were in a large warehouse. Except large really didn't do it justice. Reno had never seen a single room as huge as this one. Three stories high, it looked like it could easily have swallowed three or four football fields. It was so huge he couldn't see from one end to the other. All he could see was dozens of rows of shelves that rose up almost to the ceiling themselves, running into the distance as far as the eye could see.

"This is the main warehouse," Mr. Blume explained. "Pretty impressive, eh? Here we keep over a million individual items. Vanguard isn't just a power company you know. They're involved in over 600 individual businesses worldwide, from things as diverse as earth moving vehicles to children's toys. It's our job to cover the needs of all those businesses. If they need something that's hard to find, this is the place they call, and they expect us to come up with it. Our job is to know where it is, and if it's not in the warehouse, to find it as quickly as possible. That's one way we stay ahead of the competition. You think you're up for that kind of pressure?"

Reno stood there for a moment looking around. Then a smirk grew on his face as he turned to Mr. Blume.

"I thrive on it," he replied.

Mr. Blume nodded in approval.

"That's the kind of attitude we like," he said. "C'mon, I'll show you where your office is."

They walked down the aisles, Mr. Blume explaining the layout of the place, and the general idea of how and where everything was stored. Reno tried to pay attention. He had a pretty good memory, but even so it was going to be hard to remember everything they had gone over. He hoped the man didn't expect him to remember where everything was immediately.

They came to a door that had what Reno recognized as a key code security lock on it. He had noticed a few of them before, but all of them had been up on the fifth floor.

"That's where we keep high security inventory," Mr. Blume told him helpfully. "Once you've been around for a while and have shown you can be an asset to the company, you'll be given clearance."

In other words, once they thought he could be trusted, Reno thought.

"In a way you're lucky. You'll only have to deal with what's out here. There's another hundred thousand pieces of inventory in there."

Reno nodded, looking around to make sure he remembered just where this particular door was. It seemed he already had a target for further investigation.

But there was no rush on that.

They continued on their way, then suddenly turned off to the left. In a recessed alcove in the wall they entered an elevator and went back up to the third floor. The elevator opened up on an elevated walkway that ran along the wall of the warehouse. Now Reno could look down over a concrete railing and see the warehouse floor below. If anything, from up there it looked even larger. Offices lined the opposite wall. Mr. Blume led him into one.

"Here you go," the man said.

The room was large, but then again, it seemed you could say that about every room in the building. Not surprisingly, the decor matched that of all the other rooms he had seen. White walls and floor, with modular black furniture.

"What do you think?"

Reno attempted to look suitably impressed.

"It's very nice," he replied.

Mr. Blume walked over to the desk.

"As you can see," he said, indicating the papers on it. "We've already got some invoices here for you to go over. I'm afraid our previous aquisitions officer left the place in rather a mess, and we need to get it straightened out as soon as possible. All these have to be entered in the computer. C'mon I'll show you how to do it."

Reno nodded and sat down behind the desk. Mr. Blume went through the procedure. Reno picked it up by the second try. The third one he did by himself.

"Good," Mr. Blume said. "I'll leave you to it then."

"My office is right down the hall," Mr. Blume continued, jerking a finger in it's direction. "If you need anything, feel free to ask. I'm the manager of this section, so I'll have the answers to most anything you might want to know. There's a fifteen minute break in the morning and afternoon. You can take them anytime you want. And an hour for lunch, which is served between eleven and two o'clock down at the cafeteria. I'll come by later to see how you're doing and introduce you to some of the other managers."

"Thanks," Reno replied.

"All right then, I'll leave you to it."

Mr. Blume left the office. As soon as he was gone Reno stopped what he was doing and sat back in his chair. A minute or two later he got up and walked over to the door, opening it up. He looked out. Satisfied that Mr. Blume was gone he stepped over to the railing, looking down and noting with satisfaction that from this position he could clearly see the door to the secure inventory room. His first order of business was to find someone who had a key card to get in there. A little bit of simple observation ought to turn up someone fairly quickly. Then it would just be a matter of 'appropriating' a key of his own. He didn't think he'd have too much trouble.

Which was a good thing, he thought, glancing back at his office. Because he didn't plan on spending too much time here. The sooner he got out the better. He would have to keep up appearances for as long as he was here, which meant he'd have to deal with that stack of papers on the desk. Something he was not anxious to do. No, he wanted to get this done as soon as possible. This job was too much like work.

* * *

Elena took her compact out of her bag and flipped it open. Turning her head from side to side she looked at herself critically. Touching her cheek she wondered if she had put on a little too much make up. Or then again, maybe not enough. She hadn't been sure just how far to go when applying it this morning. It was hard to tell just how much would make a good impression, and how much was too much. She had found that, as a general rule, when it came to the business world, too little was usually better than too much, but one never knew.

She would have laughed at herself, if she wasn't so nervous. She wanted to impress them, even though this wasn't really a job at all, and she was just here to spy on them. Yet still she felt the need to make a good impression. It certainly couldn't hurt to do so, and might just help her get the information she needed that much faster. And it wouldn't do them any good if she went in there looking like a slob and ended up getting fired.

The door to the office she was standing next to opened suddenly, startling her.

"Miss. Morrison? Mr. Holbrook will see you now."

Elena just stood there for a moment, regaining her composure and calming the butterflies that were fluttering in her stomach. Then she ran her hands down her skirt to straighten it, and walked into the room.

Inside another man was sitting behind a desk, a third man standing beside him. They turned toward her as she walked in.

The man who had opened the door closed it, remaining where he was.

The man behind the desk stood up and extended his hand.

"Theo Holbrook," he introduced himself. "Chief of Plant Operations."

Elena took his and gave it what she hoped was a firm shake.

"Marion Morrison," she replied, though she was sure he already knew that.

"Yes," the man replied, returning to his seat. "We've heard a lot about you Miss. Morrison. Vanguard doesn't normally hire people without first having a personal interview, but the person you're replacing left unexpectedly, which kind of left us in a bind. And your resume was so impressive, we thought we had to get you before someone else snatched you up."

"Thank you," Elena said politely.

"This is Zeth Darkmon," Theo continued, indicating the man standing by the desk. Elena nodded and Zeth smiled at her, but for some reason the smile did not communicate any warmth at all. "He's my assistant. If you have any problems that can't be handled in your department, he'll be the one you need to speak to." Theo gave her a penetrating look before continuing. "Let's hope there's not too many of those."

Elena gave the barest nod of her head, but she was getting the message loud and clear. They expected her to handle whatever they threw at her.

"And the gentleman who let you in is Gorby Vanussen. He's been filling in in the public relations department until we found a replacement. I'll leave it up to him to fill you in on the little details of what's going on in the department, but first I'd like to give you an idea of the big picture."

"Sure," Elena said, nodding.

Mr. Holbrook got to his feet once more. He walked over to the window behind him and looked out on the panoramic view of Junon harbor below.

"As I'm sure you're aware, Shinra gave electric companies a bad name," he said. "After the truth about their corruption and misuse of power came out, people lost their trust. Only natural. Unfortunately, even though we are an entirely different company, that lack of trust has carried over. People used to have a lot of faith in the companies that ran the country, figuring they were working in the people's best interest. It was very easy to keep their trust. But since the Shinra incident they've become disillusioned. Now they've swung in the opposite direction. Now they look at everything we do and question it, trying to see if we have an ulterior motive, to see if we're going to follow in Shinra's footsteps. Under these circumstances, good PR is much more difficult to maintain, yet if anything, it's even more vital to do so than it ever was in the past. Before Vanguard bought it out, the Junon Power Company was on the verge of bankruptcy. With the new infusion of funds from Vanguard, that's not going to happen. But Vanguard is still a business, it expects to make gil. Unfortunately this company is still losing gil. Vanguard didn't buy this place out of the goodness of it's heart. It saw potential here. It saw that with modern equipment and a streamlined workforce this place could become quite profitable. They don't expect it to happen in a day, but they do expect it to happen. We're getting pressure from Vanguard to produce, and at the same time we're getting pressure from a public that doesn't trust us. Needless to say that doesn't make our job any easier."

Mr. Holbrook sat down on his desk and folded his arms across his chest.

"As our public relations expert, it's up to you to restore the publics trust in us," he said, looking straight at her now. "It's not going to be an easy job, as your predecessor found out. We don't get any praise for keeping all the lights on, but we sure as hell hear about it when we don't. We need the help of political figures and the public in general to get the contracts we need and public backing for our projects. We're not going to become a profitable company until we do that, so you could say that the fate of the company is resting on your shoulders."

He gave her a probing look, a look that made her heart race. She hoped they didn't notice how wobbly her legs had become. But before she could say anything Mr. Holbrook smiled.

"Not that I'm putting any pressure on you or anything," he said.

That eased the tension a little bit.

"It might not be quite that bad," he continued, "But it is serious. Do you think you can handle it?"

Elena hesitated a moment, hoping that when she spoke it wouldn't give away her jitters.

"I'll try my best," she finally managed to get out.

Mr. Holbrook didn't reply to that, just sat there looking at her for a moment. Finally he nodded, then went over and sat down in his chair again.

"All right," he said. "I guess that about covers it. Mr. Vanussen, would you escort Marion to her office and fill her in on things?"

"Yes sir," Mr. Vanussen replied.

Elena gave an inward sigh of relief that it was over. She immediately turned away and followed Mr. Vanussen out the door. He started down the hall.

"Um, is there a bathroom nearby?" she questioned.

He turned to look at her.

"Uh, yeah, there's one right down the hall," he replied. "Are you alright?"

She looked at him sharply. Was it that obvious?

"Of course," she replied hastily. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. You looked a little nervous in there. Not surprising I guess, being new on the job and all. And Mr. Holbrook can put the fear of god in anyone. But since you work in public relations, I thought you'd be used to it."

Elena hesitated. She had hoped that her nervousness hadn't shown, but it was obvious she hadn't hid it as well as she would have liked. If Mr. Vanussen had seen it, it was likely Mr. Holbrook had too, and that thought made her even more nervous.

"I'm fine. Just a little first day jitters. It takes me a little time to adjust, that's all," she said, thinking that it sounded lame, but she couldn't think of anything else to say. "Can we find that bathroom now?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," he said.

He led her down the hall, and just as he had said there were bathrooms at the end of it. Elena quickly entered one. She leaned against the wall and let out a sigh of relief. Her stomach felt like it was going to erupt. She couldn't remember ever being this nervous in her life, not even when she had applied to join the Turks. She had never worked undercover before. She had never had to go around telling everyone lies. She wasn't sure she was cut out for it. She was deathly afraid that she would slip up, that she already had slipped up. She went over in her mind everything she had said back at Mr. Holbrook's office, wondering if she had said anything that would give away the fact that she wasn't what she seemed. What would they do to her if they found out the truth? She assumed they would just dismiss her, or at the worst call the police. She wasn't worried about that. The Turks would get her out of trouble on that score. But what if there really was something going on here, something they didn't want anyone to find out. If that were the case, her life could be in danger if they found out the truth. Would she get any warning? How did she know that even now some innocent little thing, or even her nervousness had made them suspicious. The Turks had spent a lot of time making sure her cover would stand up to scrutiny, but who could tell. Vanguard was a big company, she was sure it had plenty of resources. If they dug hard enough, it might be possible that they could discover her real identity. And she'd probably never know until it was too late. That smile on Holbrook's assistants face, she didn't trust it. Did he know something? She might walk into her office and suddenly...

She shook her head, realizing she was letting her imagination get carried away. There was no way she could think like that and function. If she went out there a nervous wreck, it would be sure to make them suspicious. She had to act natural and trust that her false identity would stand up. Otherwise she'd go out of her mind.

_Vincent, I wish you were here._

He wasn't far away. Right down the street at a nearby hotel. He could be there in minutes. She had his number on her cell phone. They had prearranged for her to say a particular sentence to him to tell him she was in trouble, just in case there were other listeners. But that wouldn't help her if they seized her before she could use the phone. If they found out about her, it was unlikely she would know beforehand. Even though Vincent was only a block away, she felt alone.

She turned around, looking in the mirror over the sink, straightening a loose lock of hair. She had to calm down. She couldn't waste anymore time in here. If she stayed in here too long, it would arouse suspicion.

Don't be weak, she thought to herself. You can do this. She'd just have to make sure she didn't slip up. And if she did, Vincent would get her out, somehow.

She took a deep breath and walked back through the door, a smile painted on her face.

"Sorry," she apologized. "All ready now."

Mr. Vanussen looked at her for a moment, then nodded and started down the hallway once again.

"I'm really glad you're here," he said as they walked. "I'm really not a public relations expert. I mean, I can talk to people, but I don't have that flair, you know. They just picked me cause no one else wanted the job. It's good to have you with us Marion. I can call you Marion, can't I?"

"Sure," Elena replied.

"You can call me Gorby," he continued. "We don't have to be formal when we're in the department."

"Okay," Elena agreed.

Gorby stopped in front of a door.

"All right, here we are, our home away from home."

The pulled it open and they entered. It didn't look much different from the office she had already been in. In fact, this one was bigger, but it also held two desks. Elena noticed there was a large pile of paperwork on both of them.

Gorby walked over to the nearest desk and pulled out the chair. He looked at Elena.

"Have a seat," he said.

"Thanks," Elena said, sitting down gratefully. She hadn't liked Mr. Holbrook all that much, but she supposed that was just the boss thing. And she definitely hadn't liked his assistant, but Gorby seemed nice enough. Perhaps things wouldn't be as bad as she thought.

"All right, I'll fill you in on what's going on," Gorby said beside her.

For the rest of the day they went over all the notes, charts and paperwork Gorby had collected. Elena knew pretty much from the start it was going to take her a few days to really get to know exactly what was going on. Still, she felt a bit overwhelmed. Not only did she have to worry about being uncovered, but she also had to make sure she did her job. But she forced that out of her mind. She had already had her crisis for the day, and she was determined not to repeat it, at least, not while she was still here.

And eventually the workday did end. Elena left quickly, and felt visible relief when the doors to the Power Company closed behind her. She almost ran down the street back to the hotel Vincent and she were staying at. When she entered their room, Vincent was sitting in a chair, staring out the window.

"Oh Vincent, I'm so glad that's over!" she exclaimed, walking rapidly over to him and dropping down in his lap, at the same time swinging her arms over his shoulders.

He looked at her with some surprise.

"I think I almost blew it right from the start," she blurted out before he could say anything. "I was so nervous, so scared they would find me out, that something would go wrong. I had a talk with the Chief of Operations, and I was so nervous I thought I'd pee in my pants."

Vincent knew better than to smirk at that thought.

"Something like that does take a little getting used to," he agreed.

"But I did good," she continued. "Or I think I did. I'm working with a guy named Gorby Vanussen, and he seemed pretty nice. I felt a lot better after a while, but I was still so relieved to get out of there. I don't know how secret agents can do this stuff all the time. I think I'd lose my mind."

Vincent nodded. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her.

"I don't want to go back," she said, breaking away from his kiss. "But I'll be strong. I can handle it. It really isn't so bad, if you just don't think about it."

"Uh huh," Vincent replied.

"I mean, it's not going to be for very long, right?" she continued. "Just until we find out if anything fishy is going on there. I'm not sure there is. They're under a lot of scrutiny because of what Shinra did. If you ask me they'd have to be nuts to be trying anything funny. With all the distrust and snooping, someone would be bound to find out."

"That's quite possible," Vincent stated.

"I'll just have to look around and see what I can find out," she said. "But I'm not sure how easy that's going to be. I mean, I was nervous enough now and I wasn't doing anything at all. If I have to go snooping around in places I'm not supposed to be, I don't know if I could do it. But I guess I have to, eh? I mean, that's what I'm there for."

"Elena," Vincent said patiently.

"There's no point in me even being there, if I'm not going to find out anything. Right? So I'll have to do that. It was hard today, but I got through it. I'm sure I can get through that too. I can do things. The Turks only hire the best, right? It might take me a little while, a little time to adjust, but I'll do what I have to do."

"Elena," Vincent said again, a little more emphatically.

"After all, I'm a professional. Everyone is depending on me. I don't want to let you all down. But you know, I half hope that nothing really is going on there, cause that would make things a lot simpler, wouldn't it? Then it wouldn't be a big deal even if they did find out who I was. They probably just..."

"Elena!"

She stopped and looked at him.

"You did fine. You'll do fine. You're a very competent person. Now shut up."

The frown that started to form on her face was washed away by a shower of kisses.


	8. A Stroll in the Night

CHAPTER VIII

A STROLL IN THE NIGHT

A clawed hand raked out. Cloud saw it coming. Knowing he couldn't get out of the way he twisted round so it hit him on the shoulder. The blow was strong enough to knock him to the ground, but not strong enough to penetrate his armor. While still on the ground he lashed out with his sword. The beast leaped away as it felt the blade penetrate its flesh.

Pulling himself to his feet he turned just as another of the beasts lunged at him. Spinning deftly out of the way he swept his sword up and slashed down on it as it passed by. The sword clove into the beast's back, snapping vertebra. The animal collapsed to the ground.

The one he had wounded rushed at him again. He braced himself and swung his sword, but the beast dodged out of the way. Without warning yet another of the creatures slammed suddenly into his back, knocking him down again and almost causing him to lose his grip on his sword.

He felt claws slash down his arm as he tried to protect himself until he could bring his sword to bear. The creatures hot breath was in his face, almost gagging him, and he could see it's sickly yellow eyes staring at him as it snapped at him with it's teeth.

He tried to drive his sword into the beast, but in such close quarters he couldn't get enough leverage to penetrate the beast's thick hide. Giving up on that tack he suddenly twisted himself to the side, hoping the unexpected shift in weight would allow him to break free.

It worked. He felt burning pain as the creatures claws raked along his back, but he pulled free, only to see the second beast lunging at him.

But suddenly a crimson blur flew through the air, intercepting the beast as it was about to pounce. Nipala's weight knocked the creature to the side, even as her own claws drove into it's flesh.

Cloud scrambled to his knees, even as the beast that was clawing him tried desperately to get a grip again. Turning round, Cloud swung his sword. The beast tried to leap back, but it wasn't fast enough . The sword came down on it's skull, killing it instantly.

Cloud spun around, ready to strike, but Nipala didn't need his help, already having dispatched the other creature.

The both turned, looking down the slope. Red stood not far away, amid the bodies of two more of the beasts, licking a wound on his leg.

Cloud lowered his sword.

"Looks like that's all of them," he commented.

"What are these things?" Nipala questioned, looking curiously at the creature at her feet. They looked like a cross between a wolf and a lizard, about the same size as Nipala. Grey fur covered most of their bodies, except their back, which was encased in black scales. They had the clawed feet of a lizard as well, but also a long hairless tale. Altogether the effect was nothing to write home to mother about. They were downright ugly, or so it seemed to Cloud.

"I've never seen anything like them before," Red responded as he came limping over. "Like the others we've seen, it doesn't look like a natural mutation."

Cloud nodded. They had been combing the forest for almost two weeks now. So far they had found no sign of the mako source, whether natural or artificial. However, if any of them still harbored doubts as to it's existence, they were quickly being dispelled. This was the tenth, no, eleventh group of monsters they had come upon since they had started searching.

And that was just his group. They had split up in the beginning. Reeve had laid out a grid, and each person had taken a portion of it to search, figuring that would be the fastest way to cover the large area involved. However, after a few attacks they had soon realized that searching alone was just too dangerous, and had merged into two groups. Cloud had taken Red and Nipala with him, and left Cid in charge of Barret, Reeve and Cait. It was slower this way, but there was just no choice.

He knew Cid's group had run into about as many monsters as he had. Even though the area was wild and untamed, it still seemed like much too many to be a natural occurrence. There had to be a mako source around somewhere. Cloud was sure of it. It was just a matter of finding it.

But that was proving difficult, as most of them had predicted. Even after two weeks, they still had a huge area left to cover. It might take months before they were done.

Cloud saw green light and felt a tingling sensation on his wounds. He looked over to see Nipala using a cure material on both he and Red. His wounds hadn't been that bad to begin with, just some scrapes and minor cuts. After the material light faded, he didn't feel them at all anymore.

They had started out near Lucrecia's falls. It had seemed logical, considering that's where Vincent had found the mako crazed man. The falls were at the southern end of the mountain range, the land to the south falling away to open plains. At first they had fanned out in all other directions, searching at random. After a week of this, Reeve had suggested a new tack. He had plotted their progress, and noticed that the monster attacks had been more frequent to the groups heading to the northeast. Assuming that the creatures would be more abundant the nearer they got to the mako source, he suggested they concentrate their search in that area. Cloud had to admit it made perfect sense, but by the same token it had increased the frequency of their encounters. After a solid week of fighting, Cloud could see that the combat was taking it's toll. They were all exhausted.

Nevertheless, no one suggested that they slow down their search. They were all determined to go on, determined to find the source. This wasn't fun. They weren't on vacation. They were all tired and sore and Cloud was sure most of them would jump at the chance to head back to their homes to get some rest. But no one complained. No one left. Cloud couldn't help but feel a little bit proud of them all.

Not that he was any less anxious to get this over with. He wondered, for the millionth time, it seemed, how Tifa was doing back in Ifalnia. This was the first time since they had announced their engagement that they had been separated for, well, more than a few hours, now that he thought about it. He wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but he missed her. It seemed like she had always been with him, always been by his side in a fight. He had come to depend on her being there, not ever having to worry about an unexpected attack, always knowing that she was there to protect his flanks, knowing she would cover for him if he got too aggressive or reckless, or both. He had to be more cautious now that she wasn't there, and frankly, that cramped his style.

He wondered how things were going back in Ifalnia. He had spoken to her last evening, and she hadn't mentioned anything out of the ordinary. Of course, knowing her, even if something had happened she might keep it to herself, not wanting to worry him. He could understand. She knew what he was doing was important; she knew he couldn't come rushing back, even if he wanted to. He knew she took pride in being able to take care of herself, and wouldn't call him back unless it was truly important.

But even so, he would go back if he had too. She and the baby were more important to him than anything. He just hoped she didn't underestimate the dangers.

"If this keeps up it's going to take us forever," Nipala stated glumly. "It's bad enough without all these attacks. I don't know how many times I've used cure on us all in the last week. But even cure spells don't heal as well as old fashioned rest. I feel like every single one of my bones aches."

"True," Red nodded in agreement. "Cure spells don't offer as much relief as real healing does. The wounds are fragile, and more easily damaged again. The Elders have done several studies on this. The spells are only a temporary thing, really, just something to hold you together until your body can heal itself. You can't go on forever just using spells, without allowing time for the body to naturally heal. In that situation, as time goes by, the spells become less and less effective. In can be dangerous, in fact. Damage can accumulate insidiously over time, without your even being aware of it. You think the spell is doing more good than it really is. And then suddenly, when the burden becomes too much, everything might give out at once. It can kill you."

"Wonderful," Cloud muttered.

"It would help if we had more people to give us a hand," Nipala said unhappily.

"Yes it would," Red agreed. "Unfortunately, it's never easy to get people to do something like this. Especially if the danger isn't clear cut. It would be different if we had proof there was a mako reactor out there somewhere, or at least, I hope it would. Right now everyone has something better they have to do. The danger isn't obvious enough."

"Even if we had more volunteers," Cloud spoke up. "I'm not sure that would help in this particular case. With all these monsters around, anyone helping would have to be trained in battle. Otherwise they'd just end up needing rescuing and causing us to waste more time."

"I suppose you're right," Red sighed. He lifted his head and looked around. They stood on the side of a hill surrounded by tall pine trees. "I guess there's nothing for it but for us to keep going as long as we can, hoping we'll get lucky and find the place soon. I suggest we head downhill. The forest floor down there would be difficult to see from the air. We might find something there that Cid couldn't spot."

The pilot had flown them over the entire area before they had started their search on the ground, but they had seen nothing out of the ordinary.

Cloud nodded in agreement and they wearily started to make their way downhill. There were no trails here. The ground was rocky, and covered with brush and decaying tree trunks. Progress was slow.

After a short time they came across a narrow ravine cut in the ground, obviously from runoff down the side of the mountain, although it was dry now. The bottom was wide enough for them to walk and clear of obstructions, and using it they made much better progress.

They walked in silence. Cloud wasn't known for his conversational skills to begin with, and they had spent so much time together already, they didn't really have anything to say to one another.

They reached the bottom of the valley, and saw another mountain looming up in front of them. Here they turned east for a while, following the valley floor. Soon they would have to start up the mountain again, back the way they came. It was tedious business criss crossing the entire region, trying to make sure they didn't miss anything. But it had to be done. If they finished the search and found nothing, he wanted to be certain it was because nothing was there and not because they missed it.

But all they had seen so far was virgin woodland. There were no trails, no large open spaces. No clues that more than a solitary adventurer or two had passed this way. If there really was a mako reactor here somewhere, there had to be some sign. There had to be some kind of access. Equipment and supplies had to be brought in and out. People had to be coming and going. There had to be power lines to transport the electricity produced to where it was needed. That wasn't something you could easily hide.

Yet they had seen nothing. There was no sign at all of any construction, of any roads, of anyone being anywhere near here. It just didn't make sense.

Unless the mako source was natural. Perhaps Red was right, and some rockslide somewhere had uncovered a new mako fountain. At this point that seemed to be the only reasonable conclusion.

So how come he didn't believe it?

A rustling sound in the trees caught his attention.

He looked up and saw something swooping down on him.

"Look out!" he shouted.

He leapt out of the way as claws snapped at the air where he had stood a moment before.

He spun around, whipping out his sword, as the air around them was suddenly filled with flying creatures.

They weren't as large as the other beasts. They were some kind of bird, or birdlike creature, for they had feathers. They appeared just a little larger then the average bird of prey. That was about all Cloud could be sure of, for they swarmed around him and his friends in a thick cloud, making it hard to pick out any individual creature. What they lost in size they made up for in numbers. The sky seemed to be filled with them.

Cloud swung his sword wildly through the air, not really aiming. There were so many of them he was bound to hit a few no matter what he did. And indeed, he felt the sword bite into flesh and saw a creature fall. A dozen times he swung, and almost everytime a bird fell or flew off, badly hurt. But they were getting their licks in too. Already he had half a dozen wounds from claws that had torn at his exposed flesh. Though none of them by themselves were too painful, the damage was adding up.

He looked around and saw that Red and Nipala were in just a bad a state as he was.

"Retreat!" he shouted. "There's too many of them!"

Cloud turned and ran, swinging his sword behind him as he went. Red and Nipala didn't waste time arguing. Indeed, seeing the wisdom of his suggestion, they turned tail as well, and after just a few paces they had caught and passed him. He felt a claw tear across his neck. He swung his sword again, struggling back up the hill. For what seemed like a lifetime, but was really only a few moments, the birds continued to attack. But then the attacks suddenly seemed to diminish. Which Cloud could mostly tell by the fact that he could see the sky again and not just a mass of the creatures above his head. One more time a claw slashed across his back, as if to get in one parting blow, and then the birds fell back, disappearing into the tress from whence they had come.

Cloud sat down wearily on the ground, panting heavily. He shook his head.

"I think I'm getting too old for this stuff," he muttered.

Nipala came up beside him, and once more he felt the tingling heal of a cure spell. It didn't make him fell a whole hell of a lot better.

"I think it might be wise if we went back to Corel and got some rest," Red commented.

Cloud looked up at them. Both Red and Nipala were lying on the ground beside him, looking just as tired as he thought he must. Cloud turned toward the trees they just retreated from and stared at them for a moment. Then he nodded.

"I guess we'll have to," he agreed. "Even if we weren't winded, I don't know whether we'd be able take on that many creatures by ourselves."

He forced himself to get to his feet.

"But we'll be back," he continued, almost as if talking to himself. "With reinforcements. Looks like this might be a job for our entire group. One things for sure, if Reeve's right, if the number of creatures we encounter is dependent upon how close we are to the source of the problem, then I'd say we oughta be damn close to finding what we're looking for."

* * *

It was dark.

Aeris looked around her room and saw the familiar outline of the furniture of her bedroom. It could be dimly made out in the light that seeped through her curtains.

She sat up, looking around slowly. All was quiet, but for some reason she was uneasy. She felt as if something had awakened her. Something out of the ordinary. She listened carefully, but no sound disturbed the darkness around her.

At least not at first. But then she did hear something. It wasn't loud. She could barely make it out, but it wasn't her imagination. It sounded like a whimpering cry.

She pushed back her covers and stood up, her nightgown shimmering in the faint ethereal glow from the Cetra buildings outside. She walked to the door without turning on the light. She felt perfectly at ease in the darkness. She pulled open the door and stepped into the hallway, halting again to listen.

After a moment she heard it again. A short cry, a little louder this time. She thought it was coming from the next room. The room Tifa was in.

She hurried over to the door to Tifa's room, stopping in front of it. Again she paused to listen, a frown forming on her thin features.

There was silence.

"Tifa? Are you alright?" she called out, trying to be loud enough to be heard, but not to wake up Elmyra, who was farther down the hall.

There was no response.

She hesitated a moment, then heard the cry again. She immediately pulled open the door.

Tifa was lying on the bed on her side. The covers were on the floor beside her. Aeris looked around the room, not sure what to expect, but there was nothing in the room out of place.

Tifa twisted onto her back, moaning. It seemed obvious she was having an unpleasant dream.

"Tifa!" Aeris said more forcefully, walking over to the bed beside her friend. Aeris couldn't see her all that clearly, for she still hadn't turned on a light. Tifa was wearing just a t shirt and panties, and even in the dark Aeris could see the shirt was covered with sweat. She reached out and took hold of Tifa's arm.

"Tifa, wake up!"

Tifa's eyes opened. She looked around wildly for a moment, then her hand shot out, grabbing Aeris' arm so tightly she thought Tifa's fingernails would draw blood.

Aeris sat down on the bed beside her friend, taking her hand in her own as reassurance.

"It's okay. It was just a dream. You're alright now," she said soothingly.

Tifa's hand slowly relaxed. She looked around, finally realizing where she was.

"I'm sorry," she managed to say, feeling embarrassed. "Did I wake you?"

"It's alright," Aeris replied. Tifa had mentioned she had been having some nightmares when they had last talked, but Aeris hadn't realized they were quite so upsetting. "Was it about the baby again?"

Tifa nodded, pulling herself up into a sitting position and tucking her legs in underneath her.

"I don't know, " Tifa said wearily. "I mean, I know it's just a dream. I've gone over this a hundred times with Cloud, and with you and Red and all. I know what Jinn showed us wasn't real, wasn't a vision of the future. And yet...I don't know, no matter how much I tell myself that nothing is wrong, there's still a little bit of doubt, you know. I know it's foolish but..."

"It's not foolish," Aeris reassured her. "It's perfectly natural. We've all been through a terrible ordeal. For all that happened to you, I'd say you've coped remarkably well. You're stronger than you think."

Tifa looked down at the bed. She didn't think she was strong at all. If she was, Jinns visions wouldn't bother her so much. But perhaps she was asking too much of herself. Aeris words did make her feel a little better, but it didn't banish the doubt completely.

"Thanks," she said gratefully. She looked around for a moment. "Do you know what time it is?"

The glow from the Cetra buildings outside was never changing, offering no clue to the time, or even if it were day or night.

"It's just after four a.m.," Aeris replied.

Tifa nodded. It was later than she thought. Or earlier, depending on how you looked at it. She looked at Aeris.

"You're probably tired. Go get some sleep. I'm fine now."

Aeris stood up.

"Actually, I'm not tired at all," she replied. "In fact, I think I'm going to take a walk. It's very peaceful in the streets this early in the morning."

Tifa looked at Aeris curiously. Growing up in the part of Midgar she was from, Tifa would have never even considered taking a walk out on the streets this time of night. True, this was far from Midgar, but still, considering the trouble they'd been having lately with the Church of Humanity, she wasn't sure Aeris should go wandering around by herself.

But knowing her friend as well as she did, it didn't seem likely saying that would make her change her mind.

"I'm not tired either. I'll come with you."

Aeris nodded.

"If you wish," she said. "Just give me a minute to change."

She turned as walked out of the room. Tifa got up off the bed, thinking how strange it was to go out taking a stroll at four o'clock in the morning. But what the hell. She really wasn't tired, and doubted she'd be able to get back to sleep even if she tried. Not that she wanted to try. Having those nightmares once a night was bad enough. She didn't want to try for a repeat performance. Taking a little stroll might be the best thing for her. She'd get a little fresh air, and maybe take her mind off those stupid dreams.

She pulled a pair of shorts out of the dresser and slipped then on. There was a mirror over the dresser and she stood in front of it straightening her hair. The glow from the Cetra buildings was ever present, making turning on a light unnecessary. It took some getting used to actually, especially if you liked it very dark when you slept. Cloud always had a hard time sleeping whenever they came here for that very reason.

But it didn't bother Tifa.

Satisfied that she was at least half way decent looking, she stepped out into the hallway. It seemed silly to be concerned about her appearance at four in the morning. It wasn't likely they were going to run into to many people on the street this time of the day. Nevertheless, old habits died hard. She didn't want to go out there looking like she had just woken up.

Aeris appeared a few moments later. She was wearing a simple white dress that fell to just above her knees. She quietly closed the door to her room, then motioned for Tifa to follow her. They walked down the hall as quietly as they could, not wanting to wake Elmyra, then out the front door.

It was cooler outside. Which was pleasant, actually. Tifa had been uncomfortably hot from tossing and turning in bed. The cool night air that filtered down from above was refreshing.

She looked around. As she had suspected, there was not a soul in sight. It was brighter out here, though still not as light as during the day. The glow from the Cetra buildings was unchanging, of course, but man made street lights that made it as light as day during the day were turned off at night. The city had a much more otherworldly look with only the cetra glow to light their way. It could almost be described as eerie, if one wasn't used to it. It reminded Tifa of the first time she had come here.

But, like her dreams, her first visit here wasn't something she wanted to be reminded of.

She looked at Aeris walking along beside her. It was obvious the Cetra had made her peace with the place. Tifa wonder if she ever even thought back to what Sephiroth had done to her here.

Aeris took a deep breath.

"It's so quiet," Tifa said, keeping her voice low. There was no one near, but it almost seemed somehow disrespectful to break the silence by talking too loudly. A normal city was full of sound, night or day. But here, there seemed to be no noise at all. There were no vehicles in the lower city. It was still small enough that everyone could walk to wherever they were going. Tifa thought that would change eventually, as the underground city expanded. There was no breeze down here either to rustle the leaves on the trees. She couldn't even here the almost universal sound of insects chirping or buzzing. The stairways leading down to the city where open. There was nothing there to prevent insects from coming down here. And with all the flora that grew here, they certainly wouldn't be wanting for shelter or food. Yet, she couldn't hear any insect noises, nor could she ever remember seeing any during the day. Was she just unobservant, or was this another strange effect left over from the Cetra?

"Yes," Aeris agreed. "I think that might have been one of the reasons the Cetra chose to build here. For some reason the voice of the planet can be heard here more clearly than any other place I've ever been."

Tifa didn't reply. She hadn't really thought about that. She hadn't really thought that silence to her, real silence, might not be to her friend. She wondered if the Cetra had built here because the voice of the planet was so loud, or the other way around.

"What's it like?" she said hesitantly.

"What's what like?"

"Being able to hear the planet," Tifa replied slowly. She had always wondered about that. What it would be like to be able to hear the planet itself. It sounded so strange, and yet, she couldn't help but wonder. It was a stupid question, really. She didn't expect Aeris to be able to explain. But she couldn't help but ask.

"It's very...comforting," Aeris replied. "It's strange. Being part Cetra, I can't help but feel alone sometimes. I know, I have all of you to keep me company. No offense, but that's still not exactly the same. That's why I was so happy when we met Ellengio. Sometimes you just...I don't know. I'm not sure I can explain."

"No, I understand," Tifa replied. "I've felt the same way at times, though probably to a lesser extent. It's the same with men and women, I guess. Growing up, leaning martial arts, working in the bar, being a member of Avalanche, there weren't all that many girls around. I was the only female in some of martial arts classes I took. Most of the guys were okay, but even so, it was nice to have a girl to talk to on occasion, someone I knew would know exactly how I felt and what I was saying."

Aeris nodded.

"Anyway, even though the Cetra are gone, I still feel like I have a contact with them, because of the planet. It's something we all share, something that's with me all the time and no one can take away or get in the way of."

"Uh huh. But what does it...actually sound like?" Tifa continued.

"What do you mean?" Aeris questioned.

"You actually hear a voice? Like someone standing right next to you talking?"

Aeris smiled.

"No, not exactly. The voice of the planet doesn't speak in words. It's more like feelings, emotions. But I can hear the voices of the Cetra too."

"That's another thing," Tifa said. "You can't possibly hear every Cetra that ever lived, right. How many do you hear? Do they all talk at once, or do they take turns?"

"I can't really say how many I hear," Aeris replied. "Most of the time they're not talking to me, I can just hear faint conversation, almost noise really. It's like having a radio on so low you can barely hear it. You can hear a sound, but you can't really make out what anyone is saying. But if someone tries to talk to me directly, I can usually hear it. The closer the person is to you by blood, the easier it is to hear them, or at least, that's the way it seems. I can hear my mother quite clearly whenever she tries to speak to me. Others, less so."

Tifa shook her head slowly. It was just unimaginable. What would it be like to hear voices constantly? In a way Tifa was envious. She wanted to know what it was like. On the other hand, sometimes she felt sorry for Aeris. That seemed like the kind of thing that might drive someone nuts.

In fact, she thought suddenly, maybe it really did. There had been humans in the past, and probably quite a few around at this very moment, who claimed to hear voices in their head. She wondered if they were all just delusions or if by some fluke they had managed to tap into whatever it was that Aeris possessed. All the Cetra could speak to and hear the planet, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for them. They were expected to, in fact. But it wasn't normal for humans. Perhaps there was a real explanation for what all these 'crazy' people were hearing. It make her look at things in a whole different light.

"But you hear it all the time? There's never any time when you don't?" she asked.

And if the Cetra changed the way people thought about hearing voices, didn't it also change the way we thought about death? Tifa hadn't really thought too much about what happened after someone died. She had hoped there was some kind of afterlife, but of course, there had been no way to tell. But the Cetra _had_ an afterlife. Ifalna was dead, yet Aeris could still communicate with her. And in a way that made it obvious that Ifalna was still aware of what went on in the living world. Here was proof that there was awareness after death. And if there was an awareness for the Cetra, didn't that make it that much more easier to believe there was an awareness for humans too. True, they didn't have to kind of awareness the Cetra obviously possessed, and what held true for the Cetra didn't necessarily apply to humans. But still, if it was true for one species, it made it that much easier to believe it could be true for all, in some fashion. Perhaps when humans died they went to a similar place, but for some reason could only observe, not directly communicate. It was comforting for Tifa to believe that her mother and father were out there somewhere watching over her, not just in spirit, but literally.

Aeris stopped and turned to look at her suddenly.

"You've never asked me about this before," she observed. "Not that I mind, but what brought on this sudden interest?"

Tifa hesitated a moment before answering, digging with her foot into the roadway. She had always wondered what is was like to hear the planet, to possess the powers that the Cetra possessed. But she had never said anything. The truth was that in spite of her friendly attitude, Aeris had always intimidated her a bit. Her beauty, her exotic background, all conspired to make her seem so much more, aloof wasn't really the word. Aeris didn't act like that at all. Tifa really couldn't understand how she felt. It just had never seemed right to her to ask Aeris about these sort of things. Perhaps it was just her shy nature. In any case, she wasn't going to say that.

"I don't know," she said finally. "I've always been a little bit curious, I guess."

Aeris looked at her for a moment, then smiled and shrugged.

"Yes, I hear them all the time," she replied. "The only time the voices faded was when we went out into space. I couldn't hear the voices of the Cetra, but I could hear the other planets. Their sounds are drowned out here by the voice of this planet, but up in space I could hear them all. It was the most beautiful thing."

Aeris sighed, obviously thinking back to the experience.

"Well, Cid's still got his rocket," Tifa pointed out. "Maybe he'll take you up into space again one of these days."

Aeris smiled at the thought.

"You know, I might enjoy that," she replied. "Knowing how he feels about flying, somehow I don't think it would be very difficult to talk him into it."

Tifa had to agree with that. Cid would probably be ecstatic at the prospect.

"But you and Cloud have to come with us," Aeris added.

Tifa looked down at herself.

"In that case, I think it might be a while before you see space again," she said. "I don't think Cloud would be too happy to see me zooming off in a rocket in this condition."

"I supposed not," Aeris said with mock disappointment. "I guess he has a point though."

"I guess," Tifa agreed. "A trip into space might be a bit much. Right now I'm lucky he lets me lift a frying pan to make breakfast in the morning. I swear, what is it with guys that they think as soon as you become pregnant you're completely helpless?"

Aeris laughed, the loudest sound they had made yet. It echoed in the air around them.

"Maybe you should enjoy it while it lasts," she said disengeniously.

"I don't know," Tifa replied. As much as she enjoyed the attention she would rather do without it. She had spent practically her whole life proving to herself and the world that she could take care of herself. She hated being helpless, or even being thought of as helpless. "I just want him to be himself."

The both resumed walking.

"Don't be too hard on him," Aeris said more seriously. "He can't help himself. He's only doing it because he loves you."

Tifa couldn't help but smile. It was true. Cloud might be a thick headed dolt at times, but her was _her_ thick headed dolt. And it wasn't like she didn't do stupid things herself often enough.

She looked over at Aeris and her smile slowly faded. All this talk of Cloud make her think of Aeris situation with Reeve. The young Cetra had told her that she had declined Reeve's proposal of marriage, but she hadn't really given Tifa any details, and again, Tifa had been reluctant to ask. But now she felt she might be bold enough to say something. She wasn't sure why, whether it was because they were spending so much time together or just something in the night air.

"Aeris..." she began.

The Cetra turned her clear green eyes toward her.

"Hum?"

In spite of her new found comfort, Tifa still found herself hesitating a moment.

"Umm, when I talked to you last month. On the PHS, and you told me...you know, about Reeve? You really didn't go into any details and I was kinda wondering..."

She looked closely at Aeris features for any sign that the question was upsetting her friend, or that she had passed into an area that was off limits to discussion. And indeed, Aeris suddenly looked away. But when she turned back again, her face looked unhappy but not unwilling.

"I was wondering if you would ask me," she said slowly. "I'm not sure I can explain that either."

She fell silent. Tifa waited patiently.

"I really envy you and Cloud," she said finally.

Tifa looked at her in surprise.

"Why?"

"We've all led such hectic lives," Aeris continued. "Extrodinary lives, really. We faced down a giant corporation, stood against an insane warrior out to destroy the world, even went to another planet and battled an alien race. We fought countless battles, almost been killed dozens of times. Even _been_ killed. We've become famous. Yet in the end, you and Cloud can go home and forget about that. You can blend back in, raise a family, live perfectly normal lives."

Tifa wasn't sure where Aeris was going with this.

"But you can do that too," she said.

Aeris shook her head.

"No. I don't think so. It's different with me. Because I'm a Cetra."

Tifa frowned.

"It doesn't matter," she objected. "As far as I'm concerned, you're no different than me or Cloud, or anyone else. I know the other members of Avalanche think of you that way, and I'm sure there are plenty of other people who do to. Don't let the Church of Humanity..."

"No, it's not that," Aeris cut her off. "It's not the Church of Humanity. They're just the most vocal about it, but the truth is no matter what you may feel or how you may think, I am different. It's something I can't change. It's something I don't _want_ to change. It's not really a matter of how others look at me, it's how I feel about myself. I'm not meant to have a normal life."

"What do you mean?" Tifa questioned.

Aeris sighed.

"I'm not sure how to explain it," she said again. "I don't know how I know, but I _know_ that I have some purpose here. Everything that's happened has been for a reason. I died because I was _meant_ to die, and you brought me back because I was _meant_ to be brought back. It's all part of the plan."

Tifa just looked at her confused.

"What purpose? What plan?" she said, lifting up her hands.

"I don't know," Aeris replied. "I can't see it clearly. All I know is that I have more to do, and I know it's not going to be easy, and I know it's not going to be safe. But I know I have to follow it, no matter what. I have no choice. And I don't know if I can do that and also, well, get married, have kids, do all the things a normal human does. I have to follow my path, and I'm afraid that somewhere along the line I might have to choose between that and...and..."

"And the man you love," Tifa finished.

Aeris nodded.

"I don't want to have to make that choice," Aeris said slowly.

Tifa looked at her friend sympathetically. She thought she could understand what Aeris was saying now, but that didn't mean she agreed.

"But how do you know it's like that?" she questioned. "Did the planet tell you. Or your mother?"

"No," Aeris replied. "I can't ask the planet questions directly. Not those kind of questions anyway. And my mother has never mentioned anything like that."

"Then how do you know it's true?" Tifa pressed.

Aeris lifted up her hands.

"I just _do_," she said, rather lamely, in Tifa's opinion. She had heard this argument before from other people on occasion. There were some people out there who thought they were put here for a specific purpose. She didn't think it was true, at least not for humans.

"So you're afraid that somewhere down the line, this 'purpose' of yours is going to force you to choose between it and Reeve. And Reeve's going to come out on the short end of the stick."

Aeris nodded, but Tifa wasn't buying it.

"Aeris, there are plenty of people who think they were put here for some higher purpose," Tifa spoke up. "But that doesn't make it true. As far as I'm concerned, you make your own purpose. Your purpose comes from inside _you_. You get out of life what you put into it, and though it may not be easy sometimes, I think you can pursue your career goals, or whatever you want to call it, and still have a normal life along with it."

"I don't know," Aeris replied. "I don't know how the others feel. I don't know if the others have the kind of certainty I do. I can't feel what they feel, so I can't tell. All I can say is how I feel about it. And I can tell you with all honesty that there is no doubt in my mind about this. I'm going to follow this, wherever it leads, no matter what I must do. I just don't want to see Reeve hurt. I don't want cause him or anyone else anymore pain."

Tifa bit her lip. She realized this wasn't something she could argue about. She couldn't prove that Aeris was wrong, and Aeris couldn't prove she was right. And with Aeris stubborn nature, it was a sure bet she wasn't going to be budged from her position by anything less than definitive proof. What it came down to was a simple matter of faith. Something Tifa was constantly questioning in herself and something Aeris seemed to have in remarkable abundance. Still, Tifa couldn't help but wonder whether her friend was just making her life unnecessarily complicated. Prophecies had a tendency to be self fulfilling. If Aeris believed that what she had to do would get in the way of having a happy life, get in the way of any marriage, it's quite possible it could turn out just that way. But was that fate, or was Aeris, by her own actions, bringing trouble down on herself?

"Are you sure you're not being too hard on yourself?" was the best she could muster.

"I don't know," Aeris replied, and for the first time Tifa could remember, she heard a hint of self doubt in Aeris voice. Perhaps her beliefs weren't as strong as Tifa thought. "I don't think so. I understand your point of view. I've heard that argument before. But I can't help but think that it's not the same, that I can tell because I'm different, because I'm a Cetra."

There was always that wild card in there, wasn't there, Tifa thought. She always thought of Aeris as just another person, but it was true, Aeris was different. There was no getting around that. If it were another human, she would be on firmer ground, but that Cetra thing threw things off. She really didn't know how Aeris felt about this. She couldn't. Because Aeris was Cetra, or half Cetra, she corrected, there was just no way to tell for sure.

Aeris forced herself to smile.

"Anyway, that's how I feel about it. I don't know why. I told you it was hard to explain. But you never know. Things might change. Eventually things have to become clearer. Maybe when the time comes, when I understand things more clearly, I'll be able to make a more informed decision. Until then..."

Tifa didn't reply. What Aeris said could very well be true, but she couldn't help but wonder how long it might take before this epiphany took place. She knew Reeve was in love with Aeris, but love couldn't function in a vacumn. Not forever anyway. How long would Reeve wait?"

"I wonder how long they're going to be gone?" Aeris mused.

Tifa wasn't sure whether the conversation had made Aeris think about Reeve and the others or this was her subtle way of changing the subject. Either way she politely went along.

"I don't know," she replied. "Cloud told me earlier when he called that they might have found something, but coudln't check it out til tomorrow. Oh, I guess that would be today, now wouldn't it? I hope they really are on to something though. I miss him."

Tifa wasn't used to being on the sidelines. Again it left her with a vague feeling of helplessness, and she didn't like that at all. She remembered when Cid had gone to fight Jenova, right before Sydney had been born. Shera must have felt pretty much the way she did now. Or maybe not. Shera had never been one of the fighters, had never gone looking for that kind of danger. Maybe that made it easier, but not by much. She wondered how Shera could live like that, always wondering, never sure if Cid would come home at all, without going nuts

They were walking slowly down the street, not paying much attention to where they were going. Tifa looked up and saw that they were just across the road from Aeris church. They hadn't met a soul the whole time they were out, but now Tifa stopped short. In the light that emanated from the building, she could see a figure standing by the front doors.

She frowned and pointed.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Aeris looked at the church too. The furrow in her brow told Tifa that Aeris was surprised as she was.

"I don't know," Aeris said slowly.

She immediately started walking over to the church. Tifa stood there for a moment, then hurried to catch up.

"Aeris," she started, suddenly realizing just how dangerous their position was. There was no one around to help them. Aeris didn't have her staff, and Tifa wasn't really in the best condition to fight. She didn't know what the person in front of them was up to, but given the hour, it didn't seem likely it was anything good. Perhaps in this case discretion was the better part of valor.

But Aeris wasn't paying attention. She was walking forward at a rapid pace, so fast Tifa could barely keep up, seemingly determined to confront whoever it might be and find out just what was going on.

As she approached the steps the stranger looked up and spotted her.

By now they were close enough to make out the intruders features. It was a man. Or boy might have been a better term. He seemed no more than sixteen or seventeen years old.

If Tifa feared an attack her concern was shortlived. As soon as the boy saw them he bolted.

"Hey, wait!" Aeris called out.

But the boy didn't pay any attention. By instinct Tifa started to run after him, but came to her senses just a few moments later. She stopped, then turned and walked back to Aeris, who hadn't moved at all.

"I don't know what..." Tifa began.

But Aeris wasn't looking at her. Instead she was looking at the front of the church. Tifa turned toward it as well, wondering what had caught the Cetra's attention. She frowned, coming up slowly to stand beside Aeris. She hadn't noticed it before, but now she could see what the boy was doing. Splashed across the front of the church in crudely formed blood red letters were the words 'Cetra go home. This is our world. You're not wanted here.'


	9. Snooping Around

CHAPTER IX

SNOOPING AROUND

"Marshall, there you are!"

Reno looked up to see a raven haired woman in a grey jacket and matching skirt walking toward him.

It was twelve thirty. He was sitting in the employee's lounge on his break. Just as he had every day since he had started here. One would think that she'd begin to see a pattern. Yet for some reason she still seemed surprised everytime she found him here.

He lifted his foot up and pushed the chair out beside him with it.

"Have a seat Darsa," he said, the sweetness in his voice completely concealing his total disdain for her. Darsa was the kind of person who could grate on anyone's nerves. Her voice was annoyingly whiney. She was a total ditz. And the worst gossip in the place on top of that. There wasn't one person here who she didn't drive crazy, and yet she was so oblivious that she didn't have a clue as to how people really felt about her.

"Thank you," she said sweetly, taking the seat beside him. "I've been working _so_ hard today and it's just barely afternoon. Usually when I'm busy the day goes quick, but today seems to be dragging on and on."

"Uh huh,"

Kind of like your voice, Reno was tempted to say.

She leaned closer to him.

"Did you hear? Laredo got canned," she said.

"Oh really?" Reno responded.

"Yup," Darsa said, nodding. "The boss found out he had his resume out on the internet, looking for a new job. He was a really good worker too, but that didn't seem to make any difference. Guess they figure if you're looking someplace else you're not going to be motivated to do your best here."

"Yeah," Reno agreed. He had been given a prohibitively long list of rules and regulations when he was hired. He hadn't looked at it, of course, but he assumed that was on there somewhere.

"Laredo doesn't know how they found out about it, but I think Dillon might have told them. Everyone knows how ambitious he is, and he's next in line for Laredo's job. I think it was a little bit of sabotage."

"It's possible," Reno replied noncommitingly. This was one of the main reasons Darsa was so disliked. She just loved to spread rumors, the more insubstantial the better, it seemed. Reno suspected that if she didn't have all the facts, and she never did, she just filled in the blanks herself.

"And I also heard that the Mr. Van Cleff was spotted in the building yesterday coming out of his office, down the back way, which no one is supposed to know about, with an older man, and he seemed to be acting very deferentially. I think it was the President."

Reno nodded slowly. There were two reasons he put up with Darsa's chatter. One was for things like this, that buried amid all her speculation and outright lies, there might be a gain of useful information. Since Reno had started working here he had never seen the President of the company. That wasn't so unusual. It was a big company, he'd only been here for two weeks, and the President might have many other things to do. But from what he had gathered, no one at all who worked here had _ever_ seen the President of the company, no matter how long they had been working here. Though Reno hadn't seen him himself, the Vice President, Julian Van Cleff, was a common sight on the topmost floors, and seemed to take care of the everyday business of running the company. But the President himself, or herself, for that matter, was a mystery. Reno found that very strange. He was almost tempted to snoop around on the top floors hoping to run into the President, just to satisfy his curiosity. But if he considered the security down here tight, it was nothing compared to the upper floors. It might have been possible to get in up there, but he had a feeling it would take the entire resources of the Turks, and right now, the payoff just wasn't important enough to risk that.

No, he had enough on his mind right here on the second floor. Which brought him to the second reason he hung out with Darsa. It had been almost two weeks, and Reno still hadn't found a way to steal a keycard and get into the secure storage area. To tell the truth, he was getting a little frustrated at this point. He had been sure he'd have the keycard a lot sooner than this. But everyone in the place was so careful. He had never seen an organization that stressed security so strongly. Of all the people here, Darsa seemed the best candidate to leave her keycard in a position to be lifted. He knew she kept it in her purse, and the snap on the purse would be simple to open if he got the chance. She seemed to like him, which didn't surprise him, most all women did. But of the women he had met so far, she seemed the most likely to fall victim to his charming personality.

"Oh, and that movie about that ship, you know, the one everyone's been talking about? It opened up at the Junon Drive In today. I'd just been _dying_ to go see it," she added.

"Uh huh," Reno said slowly, well aware of the look she was giving him. She had been hinting at a date for some time now, but in spite of the need to get in her good graces, he had been reluctant. Even with his Turk training, he was afraid that if he went out with her the constant babbling would eventually get to him, and the temptation to fry her with his nightstick become too great. And that would ruin all his carefully laid plans.

Still, he had been talking to her for two weeks now and still didn't have the keycard. He supposed that he was going to have to bite the bullet.

"Actually," he said slowly. "I'd like to see that myself."

"Really?" she said immediately. "Well then why don't we go together?"

Reno nodded.

"I'd love to," he managed to say.

"Great," she said happily. "There's a showing at 8:10. Would that be good for you?"

"That would be fine," Reno replied.

"Okay, great," Darsa said. "Here, I'll give you my number. You can call me later to get directions."

She opened her purse and rummaged through it for a moment, finally pulling out a pen and small pad. Reno looked at her pursed, lying on it's side open in front of him on the table. He thought he could see the keycard, so tantalizingly close.

He moved his hand, knocking over his coffee and spilling it onto the floor.

"Oh damn," he muttered.

Darsa looked up.

"Oops," she said.

He reached over and grabbed some napkins out of the holder. But he had made sure there were only a couple in it.

"Could you hand me some napkins from that other table?" he asked politely.

Darsa turned to look at the table beside them.

"Yeah, sure," she replied.

She finished writing, then stepped over to the other table, grabbing a handful napkins. She came back and handed them to him. He quickly wiped up the mess and stood up.

"Do you need more coffee?" Darsa questioned.

"No, that's okay," Reno replied. "I was almost done with it anyway, and I have to get back to work."

"Oh, okay then," Darsa said as Reno started to walk away. "So, I'll see you tonight around seven thirty?"

"Yeah, that sounds fine," Reno said as he walked rapidly out of the room. He walked down the hall, her keycard safely stashed away in his pocket, trying to keep the smug expression off his face.

He made his way immediately to the warehouse. He didn't know how long it would be before Darsa discovered her card was missing. He didn't think she'd notice anytime soon. She worked in personnel, and he knew she didn't need it to get in there. Given the fact that Vanguard seemed so careful with security, he didn't even understand why they had given a card to a ditz like her in the first place. But he wasn't going to complain. Not when it had all worked out in his favor.

Still, he figured it would be wise to use it as quickly as possible. He couldn't depend on her not noticing it was missing, and if she did, she would probably report it and they might deactivate it. He needed to do what he had to do before that happened. Hopefully she wouldn't notice anything at all, and he'd figure out some way to get it back to her before she caught on, perhaps at the movies that night.

Not that he was anxious to follow through on that. The thought of spending the evening listening to her drivel was enough to send a shudder down his spine.

He walked into the warehouse. As usual there were a few workers putting new inventory on the shelves, or taking things off the shelves that had to be shipped out. He was a regular sight in the warehouse these days, however, and none of them paid any attention to him.

He stopped when the door to the secure area came into view.

He hoped he'd find some incriminating evidence in there. It would make things a lot simpler to be able to get some evidence and just bolt from the place. Not to mention he wouldn't have to show up for that movie.

There was a camera near the door. He'd already checked it out. It panned back and forth, so all he had to do was time it right to not be seen. He hoped the rest of the investigation was just as easy.

He looked around. No one was nearby. He waited until the camera was turning the other way, the quickly slipped along the wall until he was underneath it, beside the door. He looked around one more time rapidly, then ran the keycard through the lock. The door clicked. He pulled it open and quickly slipped through.

He stopped and looked around. The room didn't look much different than the main warehouse floor. There were three aisles, lined with shelves, all filled with various items. He didn't see anyone else in sight.

He walked down one aisle. The shelves seemed to be stocked full of various machine parts. He didn't recognize a lot of them. But some he did. In spite of his laid back attitude, Reno did take pride in his ability to do his job, and do it well. No one else but Rude knew, but he had studied up on Vanguard, trying to learn all he could so he would be prepared once he went in. Since Vanguard was mainly a power company, that was what he had brushed up on. He wasn't sure at first, but walking up and down a few aisles and looking at the equipment he was pretty certain what it was for. Everything on the shelves were parts for a reactor. A Mako reactor.

"Well, well, well. Seems you can't trust anybody these days."

Reno spun around at the sound of the voice. Darsa stood a few paces behind him, a gun in her right hand.

Reno stood there for a moment. This was definitely not something he had expected.

"Damn," he muttered.

"The boss had a feeling there was something suspicious about you," Darsa said. "That's why he asked me to keep an eye on you."

She walked over to him, a smile on her face.

"Surprised?" she said. "You're not the only one who can act, you know. It took me a while to perfect that little number, but you have to admit, it works. Especially on arrogant people who happen to think they're smarter than everyone else. Nothing like a little overconfidence to cause you to make a mistake."

Reno just looked at her without saying anything. Unfortunately she was right, and he couldn't believe he had fallen for it.

"Well, I hope you found what you were looking for," she continued. "Not that it's going to do you any good. C'mon, there are some people who would like to have a word or two with you."

Reno scratched his head, nonchalantly bringing his nightstick up, but before he could do anything the door to the room opened and eight Vanguard security men entered the room. Reno looked them over for a moment and realized the odds were too great. With a sigh he lowered the nightstick and followed Darsa out the door.

Heads turned to watch as Reno was escorted down the hall. A few of them, who knew Reno, gave questioning looks, but no one said anything. Reno just smiled as he walked by.

They reached the elevators and entered. Darsa punched the number for the top floor. Reno tried to look bored. He had wanted to take a look on the upper floors, now it looked like he was going to get a chance. Who knows, he might even end up meeting the President. At least his curiosity might get satisfied before they killed him.

A few moments later the doors opened. Reno looked around as they exited the elevator and walked down the corridor. He was a bit disappointed. The hall didn't look any different from the halls on the lower floors. They passed a lot of doors, but all of them were closed.

Eventually Darsa stopped at one door and opened it. Reno followed her in to find himself in what he took to be a meeting room. There was a table surrounded by chairs in the center of the room. A small water cooler in one corner was the only other furniture. Darsa motioned for him to sit. He complied.

"Wait here," she commanded. "And I wouldn't suggest you try anything stupid. There will be plenty of guards in the hallway, and we've got our eye on you." She motioned at the camera that hung unobtrusively from the ceiling above the water cooler. "It was interesting working with you, but I don't suppose I'll be seeing you again."

"You never know," he replied coolly.

She looked at him a moment more, then shrugged and walked out the door, closing it behind her. Reno sat there in silence, staring absently at the wall. Things weren't looking too good right now. He didn't have any illusions about what Vanguard had in store for him if he didn't get out of this somehow. Still, for some reason he wasn't all that worried. He had been tight spots before, and had always managed to slip out of them. True, he had fallen for Darsa's little act, and for that he could kick himself. But there wasn't much he could do about that now except learn from it and not underestimate them again. Hopefully, somewhere along the line he'd get a chance to extricate himself from this.

And again, hopefully it would be soon. He doubted they'd kill him right off the bat. They'd probably want to know what he had found out and who, if anyone, he was working with. He probably had a couple of days, but the sooner he sprung himself the better. If he didn't report back after work tonight Yuffie would know something was wrong, and he wanted to get out of here before she did something bone headed like tried to come in here on her own and rescue him. He knew from the start that having Yuffie as a backup was a risky proposition. He just hoped he didn't have to pay for that with his life.

The door to the room suddenly opened and a man entered. And for the second time that day Reno got a surprise.

He recognized the man. And it was obvious from the surprised look on the man's face that the feeling was mutual. Reno suddenly realized he was in much worse trouble than he had thought. For a moment they both just stood there looking at each other, then the man broke into a wide mirthless grin.

"Well, well, if it isn't Reno of the Turks," he said slowly. "Of all the surprises."

"You're Julian Van Cleff," Reno said slowly. It was not a question.

Mr. Van Cleff walked over and sat down in a chair across from Reno.

"Yes," he replied. "I see you remember me from our last conversation. I'm flattered. You know, when you declined the job of killing Barret Wallace I though you had gone soft. But I found out that wasn't true. It turned out you had a plan of your own in mind. When I left your office that day, I thought you weren't going to be of any use, but I never imagined you'd end up actively opposing my plan, in fact, that you would be the one to foil it. You have no idea how much trouble I got in for that."

Van Cleff stared at Reno, but the Turk did not reply. There was nothing he could say.

"For a long time afterward I dreamed about getting revenge," Van Cleff continued. "You have no idea how many stupid ideas came into my head on how to take you out, how to ruin the Turks just like you nearly ruined me. They made a pleasant daydream, but of course, I didn't act on any of them. I'm a businessman. I had more important things to attend to than something so petty as revenge. It's funny, but in none of my daydreams did a scenario like this arise, that you would just be handed to me on a silver platter."

Reno made no attempt to hide his boredom. He'd just as soon get this over with than have to sit here listening to Van Cleff gloat.

But Van Cleff was obviously enjoying this.

"Ordinarily we'd have to question you to find out what exactly you had in mind, but I think I can pretty much figure that out on my own," he continued. "I really don't need you at all, do I? I guess now it's just a matter of deciding on the most painful way to achieve your demise. I'll have to ask around and see if I can get a consensus on that. In the meantime, we'll find someplace safe to keep you. I know enough about you to know that you aren't here on your own. The Turks always work as a team, and finding one means the others are not far away. I suppose we'll have to figure out a way to deal with all of you. Hadn't really planned on that quite yet but I suppose it's inevitable. The Turks were probably going to get in our way eventually. So what better time than now?"

Mr. Van Cleff stood up.

"Well, I'd love to continued chatting with you, but unfortunately I have business I have to attend to. We'll find a nice comfortable place to keep you in until we're ready to deal with you. Someplace that's nice and quiet and will give you plenty of time to think."

Van Cleff stood there for a moment looking at him. Reno studiously studied the far wall. Finally the man shrugged, then turned and walked out of the room. The smile still remained on his face was he strolled down the hall. He just couldn't get over his luck. Of all the people he had to snag sticking their nose into Vanguard's business, it had to be Reno. The President had not been happy about the failure with Barret Wallace. He had almost lost his job for that, and perhaps his life. And all because of Reno. Fortunately the President was astute enough to realize he still had some value, and that anyone could make a mistake. But it was pretty clear that that one mistake would be the only one he got a chance to make.

He stopped at the door marked Vice President. Pulling it open he entered. He walked past the secretary and into his main office. Without stopping he walked to a door and the back and passed through it. A narrow hallway led a short distance to another door. A hallway very few people save he and the President knew about. His own back entrance into the President's office.

The office was dark. A small lamp cast a pool of illumination on the desk, but that was the only light. The President sat in a chair behind the desk, facing the window. Though she did not turn when Van Cleff entered, he had no doubt she was aware of his presence.

"Madam President?"

The chair swiveled around. The blonde haired woman looked at him, her face an emotionless mask. In the dim light, he could barely make out the scar that ran across her left cheek. If not for that one flaw, she would have been quite attractive, he thought superfluously.

"What is it Julian?" she questioned.

"We've discovered a spy. We caught him snooping around in the secured inventory section. It's Reno of the Turks."

The slight lifting of one eyebrow was the only indication that the President was surprised by this news.

"Really?" she said slowly. "That's interesting. That's very interesting."

Van Cleff gave a silent sigh of relief. He hadn't been sure how she would take this news. The fact that the Turks were snooping around made it clear that someone was suspicious of them. He wasn't sure if that suspicion might interfere with their plans.

"And if he's here the others probably can't be far behind," she said, apparently thinking out loud.

He assumed she was talking about the other Turks.

"You've got him locked up in a safe place?"

"As we speak," he replied.

The President nodded.

"All right. Double the security, and I want you to run background checks on everyone here."

"Everyone?" Van Cleff said slowly. They had thousands of employees. That would be a daunting task, and it had already been done with each person when they were hired.

"Everyone," the President said in a voice that made it obvious the command was not open to discussion.

"Of course," Van Cleff replied. "I'll get right on it."

"Good. Do you have anything else to report?"

"No."

"All right then."

The President turned away, back toward the window in an obvious gesture of dismissal. Van Cleff turned and walked out the door he had entered without another word. For a long time the President sat in her chair, pondering this development.

Reno. It had been a long time since she'd heard that name. He was one of them. One of the one's who had ruined all her plans. All this time she had put off revenge, all this time she had planned so carefully. Were her plans finally about to bear fruit?

But this was not the time to become overconfident, she chided herself. Things had been going well, but only because she had planned them out so carefully. They had all underestimated her, had all thought her nothing but a bimbo. That had worked in her favor, but she still had to be careful. She knew the members of Avalanche, Cloud and some of the others, were searching the Nibel mountains. She knew what they were looking for, and that they were close. If they found anything now it could still cause her a lot of trouble. Hopefully the capture of Reno, of one of their little group, would cause yet another distraction for them, delay for at least a little longer. Just like she hoped the trouble in Ifalnia would. Yes, everything was going according to plan, even if it was moving a little slowly. She only had to keep applying the pressure. Keep Avalanche so busy reacting to her moves that they had no time to make any of their own. It was time to turn things up a notch. She would have to speak to Gilan Bradford as soon as possible.

* * *

"Lai Li had analyzed the information you sent us. She says there's no way the power plant there could be producing all the power that it's outputting."

Elena frowned.

"What do you mean, Rude?' she questioned. She glanced over at Vincent, who was sitting by the window, not seeming to be paying any attention to her phone conversation.

"The solar generators they're using are insufficient to provide the power for all of Junon that they're covering," Rude said. "They have to be getting more power from somewhere else. Are you sure the solar generators you showed us are the only source of power there?"

"Yes," Elena replied. "I've been through the whole power plant. Those solar generators are it. There's nothing else there."

"That doesn't make sense," Rude replied. "Those generators aren't large enough to supply more than a third of the power that plant is producing. There's got to be another source, and it's got to be a major source."

"I'm telling you, that's all there is," Elena said, just a bit testily.

"Are you sure there's not someplace that you didn't see, that you can't get too?"

"There's no place in the plant that's off limits to employees," Elena stated. "I'm telling you, I've combed every square inch of the place and that's all there is."

Elena heard Rude conveying that information to Lai Li.

"Well, there has to be more to it," he continued a moment later. "If the source of power isn't there, then they've got to be bringing it in from somewhere else. There's no other explanation."

Elena hesitated a moment.

"I suppose that's possible," she said slowly.

"More than possible," Vincent remarked.

"Hum?"

"Take a look at this."

"Rude, hold on a minute," she said.

She walked over to Vincent. He pointed out the window. From the hotel room they had a great view of the ocean, in fact, that was one of the drawing points of this particular hotel. Though the ocean itself was quite scenic, you couldn't say the same about the beach here. This part of the beach was situated in the downtown area, not far from where the old cannon used to be. To the right was the airport, to the left, Vanguards power plant. This was an industrial area, not a resort. The water was a deep unappealing blue. Brownish white foam from some unknown source formed a line between the waves and the sand. Trash littered the beach. Vincent was pointing toward the power plant, but Elena didn't see anything of interest.

"What?" she questioned.

"See those cables?" Vincent questioned. "Those power cables. They lead into the ocean."

Elena squinted. Vincent had eyesight like an eagle, much better than anyone else's, save maybe Aeris. At first Elena saw nothing at all. But after following Vincent's finger, she noticed three dark lines leading from the plant into the sea. Hardly noticeable from here, they must have been pretty big to be seen at all from this distance.

"You think that's where they're getting the power from?" she questioned slowly.

"I think it's quite possible," he replied. "Which I find very suspicious. Those cables lead out into the ocean, and we both know what's out there, now don't we?"

For a moment Elena didn't reply, then her eyes suddenly widened.

"The Junon undersea mako reactor!" she blurted out.

Vincent nodded.

Elena heard a voice. It was Rude. She put the phone to her ear once more.

"I'm sorry Rude," she said. "Something has come up. I'll call you back later."

Without further explanation she hung up the phone.

"Do you think they're using it again?" she said. "With all that happened and all the people here in Junon, I would have thought they'd have safeguards against that."

Vincent shrugged.

"Who knows?" he replied. "I thought they had safeguards too, but who can say. I do know that when Cloud and the others were trying to resurrect Aeris, the Mayor here made them go into the reactor to get the schematics for it. He told them he was going to use them to try to make a more efficient coal burning reactor, but who knows if he was telling the truth? The whole thing seems very suspicious."

He slowly got to his feet.

"Anyway," he continued. "We're not going to find out anything by sitting around here. I'd say it's time we paid that old reactor a little visit. Let's go."

"Now?" Elena questioned.

"Why not?"

Elena nodded. She had just gotten back from work. It was late afternoon, a good a time as any. Vincent wasn't the type to put things off.

"Okay," she said.

They left the hotel. It only took them a few minutes to walk down to the entrance to the underwater tunnels that lead to the reactor. Elena kept her eyes open, looking for any signs of activity, but there was no one in sight.

Eventually they reached the heavy metal doors that had been built to close off the reactor. They were closed, and the area was deserted.

"I don't see any signs of activity," Elena commented.

"Neither do I," Vincent replied. "But they might just be covering their tracks."

He walked over to one of the doors and pulled it open with some difficulty. It creaked as it moved. Elena looked at the door skeptically. It didn't seem like they had been opened in a long time. But she didn't comment.

Vincent slipped through the door and Elena immediately followed. After the downfall of Shinra the reactor had been shut down, but monsters had continued to plague the lower area of Junon for some time afterward, supposedly from leftover radiation. Quite a few expeditions to eradicate the beasts had been mounted, but none had succeeded, and most had never been heard from again. Eventually the people of Junon had just decided to seal the reactor up, leaving the monsters to fend for themselves or perish inside. As far as Vincent knew, Cloud and the others had been the only one's to enter the reactor since.

But that had been a long time ago. Cloud had mentioned to Vincent that they had only met one creature on their journey. Perhaps even that was gone now. With the way clear, it was quite possible some unscrupulous characters had reentered the reactor and started using it again. Even though it was near the city, no one came here anymore. The mako power could be coming from right under the peoples nose here and they might never notice.

The theory made sense, but as Vincent looked around himself he could plainly see that the reactor was still silent and deserted. At least, this part was. They were far from the main core, however. If anyone was using it, they wouldn't want to be noticed. They might even had built another entrance. They wouldn't know for sure until they took a look at the core.

Vincent walked quickly down the hallway, Elena trailing behind.

"Do you know where you're going?" she asked.

"More or less," Vincent replied. He had been in reactors in his early days with Shinra, and although he didn't really remember much, he thought he could manage to get them to the core eventually.

Elena looked at Vincent dubiously, but followed without further protest. After all, it wasn't like they had much choice. They couldn't ask anyone for directions. And though she had been a member of Shinra herself, she had never paid much attention to the reactors.

Elena kept both her eyes and ears open. But she saw no one, heard no unusual sounds. The floors were covered with dust, the equipment old, broken and rusted. The farther along they went the more obvious it became that no one had been in here for a long time. Still, Vincent showed no sign of turning back. She supposed as long as they had gone this far, they might as well go to the core, just to be sure. But by now, she was pretty certain the place was deserted.

Vincent pulled open another door, opening up into a large room, larger than any they had been in so far. In front of them the wall formed a semi-circle, bulging out toward them. In the center of the wall stood a open doorway, the words 'Reactor Core' written above it, though they were so faded they could hardly be seen.

Vincent walked forward. With each step they could see more of the next room. With each step they could see that they were on a wild goose chase.

The next room was trashed. Equipment, furniture, some of it so twisted and broken so much that it was no longer recognizable, was strewn about the room. There was a staircase in the middle of the room, but it was bent to the side, as if a giant hand had reached out and twisted it violently. There were offices up above, the glass of their windows shattered across the floor. Huge claw marks had raked the walls, leaving marks six inches deep in solid concrete. Elena's eyes widened at the damage. She certainly didn't want to meet whatever caused this.

They stood there for a moment in silence, looking at the devastation around them.

"Well, it looks like the place is deserted," Elena said finally. "How bout we get out of here now? Whatever did this must have been pretty angry. I don't think I want to meet it."

Vincent didn't reply. He walked over and looked up the stairs.

"I believe Cloud mentioned this room was like this when he and the others came here," Vincent finally said. "If so it's likely whatever caused this is long gone. I don't think we have anything to worry about."

Elena gave Vincent a look of disapproval. Maybe the room had been like this before. Maybe Cloud and his friends hadn't run into the beast. But that didn't mean it was gone for good. Maybe they had just been lucky enough to miss it. There was no reason to believe it wasn't still hanging around, that it might not show up at any moment. But it didn't seem like Vincent was giving it a second thought. Already he was making his way up the broken staircase.

"Do you really think this is wise?," she said. "We're here. We've seen the core. It's obvious that no one is using this place to generate power. We were wrong. So why don't you just admit it and let's get out of here."

Vincent pulled himself up onto the catwalk at the top of the stairs.

"That still doesn't explain where the power is coming from,' he said. "Or where those power lines lead."

"Vincent..." Elena said, shaking her head. How were they supposed to find out where the power cables were going from in here? Or was he just being stubborn. "Come down!"

"You come up," he replied, as he disappeared into one of the offices.

Elena stomped her foot. Why did he have to be so hard headed? She was tempted to remain right where she was, just out of spite. But she looked around and realized with Vincent out of sight she suddenly felt very much alone. If that monster did decide to show up, she wanted Vincent to be right beside her. With a very unladylike curse, she started up the stairs as well.

Reaching the top she looked around again, more nervous than ever. If whatever it was that had caused this showed up now, they had no easy way to escape. With the stairs in the condition they were in, they wouldn't be able to get down them quickly.

She walked quickly down the catwalk, trying not to think about it. Hoping instead that she could convince Vincent to get out of here as quickly as possible.

He had gone into the last office, right at the end. There was a gaping hole in the catwalk that she stepped gingerly around before entering the room he had disappeared into.

She noticed the other offices had been small when she had walked past them. But this room was much bigger. To her surprise she saw that the far wall was made of thick glass. Vincent stood with his back toward her, looking out at the sea beyond.

She walked over until she stood right next to him. He pointed.

"There's the cables," he said. She looked out and saw that they ran along the ocean floor, right past the reactor, to disappear into the distance to the west.

"What do you know," she said slowly. "They don't come here at all."

"No they don't," Vincent replied. "They go west, out into the ocean. Looks like they follow the same path the ferry takes to get across."

He stepped closer to the glass, as if one step forward could help his eyes penetrate the distance the cable must travel.

"Looks like it's time we paid a little visit to Costa del Sol," he said thoughtfully.


	10. Trouble Brewing

CHAPTER X

TROUBLE BREWING

Cloud woke to the sound of voices. He lifted his head off the couch and saw Red and Nipala near the doorway to the hall. They saw him look up.

"I'm sorry," Red apologized. "Did we wake you?"

Cloud yawned and shook his head.

"What time is it?" he questioned.

"A little past eight," Nipala replied.

Cloud nodded.

"It's time I got up anyway," he said.

Red nodded and he and Nipala walked into the kitchen. Cloud stood up, getting off the couch while stretching his arms over his head. His neck was a little sore, but nothing that would trouble him. With all of them sacked out at Barret's house he couldn't be too choosy about where he slept. He was lucky he hadn't ended up on the floor.

A short time later, after a quick shower and a change of clothes, he entered the kitchen as well. Barret stood by the stove, whipping up a large patch of pancakes. Marlene, Red, Nipala, and Reeve were gathered around the table, and they had already made a large dent in an earlier batch. Cait Sith stood against the wall nearby. Only Cid was missing.

"Grab yourself a seat, Spike," Barret growled.

Cloud obliged, realizing that his stomach was growling almost as loud as Barret. He piled some pancakes onto his plate and dug in. After a few bites he looked up.

"Barret, these are really good. Keep it up and you'll make Tifa jealous."

They had all at one time or another made fun of Barret's surprising cooking ability. No matter how often he did it, no one could get used to seeing the big man in front of a stove.

Barret snorted.

"Anyone can make pancakes," he said. "All you have to do is try. I don't think Tifa has anything to worry about."

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Nipala spoke up. "Are we going back to that area where all those monsters were?"

"Seems like the most reasonable course of action," Red replied.

"Yes," Cloud agreed. " And I hope you're all rested up, because I got a feeling were not going to have an easy time of it."

"How reassuring," Reeve muttered.

They were interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Marlene got up and scampered over to it.

"Well, it might not be easy, but I think this time we might finally be on to something," Cloud continued. At least, he hoped they were. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking. He wanted to get this over with. He wanted to find out whether there really was something to this, and if so, deal with it and get back to Ifalnia, back to Tifa. All this time he had been gone he'd had an uneasy feeling. He didn't like leaving Tifa and Aeris alone, especially with what was going on with the Church of Humanity. He knew they could take care of themselves, but it just grated him the wrong way to think they might have to deal with any trouble on their own.

"Let's hope so," Red said. He was just as anxious to get back to Cosmo Canyon as Cloud was to get back to Ifalnia. He hadn't heard anything from the Elders, but he was still uncomfortable with the talk that was taking place there. He wanted this resolved as much as Cloud.

"Daddy, it's Mr. Middleton," Marlene interrupted them. "He wants to talk to you."

Barret frowned. Middleton was the Deputy Mayor. He was a good man but a little hesitant when it came to making decisions. He had called Barret many times with problems he was perfectly capable of handling himself. Barret looked down at the stove. The next batch of pancakes was nearly done.

"Well, what does he want?" he said distractedly.

There was a pause.

"He says he has to talk to you," she replied. "He says it's urgent."

"Great," Barret muttered. He looked at the pancakes, then looked at the others sitting at the table.

"Reeve," he decided. "Come over here and keep an eye on these pancakes."

"Huh?" Reeve said, his look making it obvious he did not feel worthy of such an honor.

"You heard me," Barret snapped. "Get over here and make sure these pancakes don't burn. I'll be back in a minute."

Without waiting for Reeve to comply he walked over and picked up the phone.

"Yeah, Landon, what's on your mind?"

Cloud sat back in his chair, looking at Reeve fumbling in front of the stove, glad that Barret hadn't chosen him. His observations were quickly interrupted, however, by an explosive outburst from Barret.

"What?"

All heads turned toward him. He didn't say anything for a moment, just stood there, apparently listening. Then he looked at Cloud.

"Do me a favor," he said. "Go outside and see if the paper's here."

"I'll get it," Marlene volunteered.

"No!" Barret said, surprising her. "Let Cloud."

He saw the puzzled look on her face.

Cloud looked almost as puzzled as Marlene, but he got up and walked out the door.

"Don't you have to clean up your room and make your bed?" Barret questioned, still looking at Marlene.

She stood there a minute looking at him.

"Yeah," she said slowly.

"Then hop to it."

"Aww Dad."

"Go."

She sighed and, dragging her feet, left the room.

"What's going on?" Reeve questioned. It was obvious Barret had sent Marlene away for a reason.

Barret just shook his head, looking at the back door. A moment later Cloud came in. He had the paper in his hand, staring at the front page. He put it down on the table, which was close enough to the phone for Barret to see. The lead headline read: MAYOR IMPLICATED IN MASSIVE KICKBACK SCANDEL

Reeve, unable to contain his curiosity, came over as well. He looked down at the paper and then at Barret.

"What's this all about?" he said in surprise.

"Damned if I know," Barret shot back. "What the hell is going on, Landon?"

Barret listened again to the reply while Reeve read the article out loud.

"An investigation has revealed that the Barret Wallace, the Mayor of Corel, may have accepted kickbacks totaling thousands, and perhaps millions of dollars for providing selected contracts for dozens of area businesses. According to reliable sources, the district attorney's office has already asked the courts to grant a supeona for all records that might be relevant to this fast breaking case. Although Mr. Wallace has received unprecedented support from the populace in his first two years on the job due to his role in the downfall of Shinra, his popularity has waned lately due to a recent downturn in the economy. Even so, no reports of misconduct have even been brought to light about him prior to these events. Though we haven't heard any word from Mr. Wallace himself, a spokesmen for the Mayor's office stated that these charges were malicious and totally without merit. Whatever the outcome, this reporter is sure the Mayor will have his hand's full until this is cleared up, one way or another."

Reeve looked up again.

"I don't care what they say," Barret snapped, still talking to Landon, "Just tell them...yes, I know. Yes. Look, would you just...Dammit, Landon, we all know it's bullshit. I don't care what the Governor or anyone else says! You'll have to handle it. I can't come in now. I've got...I'm telling you, there's nothing to worry about. It's all a bunch of lies. I'm sure they'll get it all straightened out. Landon would you just...Goddamit. I'll talk to you when I can!"

And with that Barret slammed down the phone and launched into a string of curses. The others waited patiently until he stopped to catch his breath.

"Barret," Reeve said slowly. "We all know there's no truth to this, but where did these accusations come from?"

"How the hell should I know," Barret snapped, throwing his arms up in the air in frustration. "This is all news to me. I have no idea where any of this could have started. I've never done anything like that. It's all a bunch of lies!"

"Barret, calm down," Cloud said. "We all know you didn't do anything like that. It's all got to be some stupid mistake."

"Mistake!" Barret exclaimed. "That's some doozy of a mistake. That's a mistake to end all mistakes. A lost contract is a mistake. Placing funds in the wrong account is a mistake. This ain't no mistake! This is a deliberate attempt to destroy my credibility. I've been set up!"

"Is it possible, just possible, mind you," Red said calmly, "that someone in your administration might have done this without your knowledge?"

Barret paused for a minute. That was obviously a thought that had not occurred to him. But then he shook his head.

"No, I don't believe that. Only a few people have the clout to pull something like that off, even with me gone, and I trust all of them."

The others were silent for a moment.

"I don't have time to deal with this now anyways," Barret said, still obviously enraged. "I got a feeling there's gonna be a ton of reporters descending on the place any minute now. I'll never get out of here if I haveta deal with that. We better get going while the going is still good."

They all looked at him in surprise.

"Barret, you can't seriously tell us you're going to leave," Reeve burst out. "You have to stay here and handle this."

"I don't give a damn about any o' this!" Barret snapped. "We got a job to do. We gotta find out what the source of that mako is. If there's another reactor out there, it's endangering the planet. That's much more important than being the Mayor of this damn town. And if they don't realize that, or like that, then they can just go and get themselves a new man for the job. If they want to fire me, they can go right ahead. I'd be happy if they did. It'd be a relief to not have to put up with all this crap anymore."

"Barret, you can't be serious!" Reeve protested.

"Why the hell not?" Barret shot back. "It's not like anybody in this town ever appreciated anything I've done here. All they ever do is complain. I swear, the harder you work, the more they want. Sometimes I don't know why I've bothered to put up with all this for as long as I have!"

"Barret, you know that's not true," Reeve said vehemently. "When you became Mayor of this town it was just a hole in the wall, and you've built it up to be one of the leading cities in the country. You can't tell me there aren't plenty of people out there who don't realize what you've done. I don't care about any accusations anyone may have made, I know you love this town, and I think most of the people here do to. Electing you Mayor was the best thing that could ever have happened to this place, I don't think anyone could do half as good a job here as you have. Deep down inside, we all know you love this job. So don't just throw it away now, after you've come all this way. There's no doubt in my mind there are plenty of people here who still believe in you, if you just give them a chance."

Barret paced back and forth. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Finally he slammed his fist down on the table.

"But dammit, I can't stay here," he exclaimed. "We need to find out what's going on with that mako. That's more important than Corel."

"Barret, we can manage without you," Cloud spoke up. "We have enough people."

"No you don't," Barret retorted. "You and I both know it. We've been talking for the last week about how we didn't have enough of us searching to begin with."

"True, but that was before we found this concentration of monsters," Red pointed out. "It could very well be that we are close to the source."

"And what if you're not?" Barret replied. "What if this turns out to be another dead end."

"If it does, it does," Reeve stated. "We'll just keep searching. One person isn't going to make or break this. We'll manage without you, Barret. You have to take care of this."

Barret looked around hesitantly. It seemed his resolve was wavering. He drummed his fingers on the counter.

"I don't know," he said slowly. "What do you guys think?"

"I think you should stay," Reeve said immediately.

"I don't think this is something that can be handled by your subordinates,' Red stated. "I too think you should stay."

Nipala nodded in agreement.

They all turned to look at Cloud. He hesitated for just a moment.

"Of course you should stay," he said finally. "Everyone is right. You have to handle this yourself. For all we know, we could just be on a wild goose chase. You don't want to lose your job over that. We'll get by."

Barret made a face. He knew how important it was to Cloud to find out what was going on. How important it might be to all of them. But he had to admit they were right. Landon was a competent man, but he wouldn't have a clue how to handle this, and Barret could just picture the kind of press he would get if he ran out in the face of this. If he wanted to remain Mayor he had to stay, even if he felt like he was letting his friends down somehow.

"Seems awfully strange this all had to come out right in the middle of everything else that's going on," he muttered. The thing that galled him the most was that he knew the accusations were without merit. He knew they wouldn't stick, and that it would all blow over. But in the meantime, he had to waste precious time defending himself.

"True," Red stated. "Does seem like an odd coincidence."

Cloud nodded but said nothing. What was going on? The Church of Humanity, Red having problems with the Elders, and now this. It seemed like everything was going wrong all at once. Was it all coincidence, or was there some kind of strange conspiracy going on. If so, what was it's purpose, and who was behind it? Or was he just being totally paranoid now?

"What are you going to tell Marlene?" Reeve said slowly.

"I don't know," Barret replied grimly. "I know it's bullshit, but I'd rather not have her exposed to it at all. But I suppose that would be impossible. I can't shield her from this, it'll be all over the papers, TV. They'll be reporters everywhere. Guess I'll just have to tell her the truth."

"I'm sure she'll understand," Nipala stated.

A movement caught their attention. Cloud turned to see Cid standing in the doorway. His hair was disheveled, his eyes still puffy from sleep. He looked around the room, blinking from one to the other.

"What the hell's going on?" he questioned. "And why's it so damn smoky in here?"

They all turned around, their eyes falling on the stove.

"The pancakes!" Reeve shouted.

* * *

"Color," Aeris said.

"Pink," Tifa replied.

"That was an easy one," Aeris stated. "And yours is orange."

"How'd you know that?" Tifa questioned.

"You said so, when we were on Grouchoon," the Cetra replied. "When Jinn gave you that flower."

"Oh yeah."

They were walking down the street in Ifalnia, heading towards the lake.

"Music."

"I don't know. Umm, classical?" Tifa suggested.

"Nope," Aeris said with a shake of her head. "Country. Although I like just about anything."

"I had no idea," Tifa said, surprised again.

"Any you like...alternative."

"You're right," Tifa conceeded.

"Okay, food."

Tifa looked at Aeris thoughfully.

"Some kind of salad," Tifa declared.

"Actually it's an ice cream sandwich," Aeris admitted.

"Really?" Tifa said in surprise. "I never see you eat ice cream."

"I don't usually," Aeris replied. "It's sort of a forbidden pleasure."

Tifa smiled.

Aeris stopped suddenly. She turned slowly to look behind them, a puzzled expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked, turning to look back as well. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary, just a woman walking away.

"I...I'm not sure," Aeris replied slowly. "I felt...something."

"Something?" Tifa prodded.

"Something," Aeris repeated. "A cold feeling on the back of my neck. I don't know..."

She fell silent.

"Well, there's no breeze down here," Tifa pointed out.

"I know," Aeris said. They stood there for a moment longer, then Aeris shrugged.

"Oh well, it was probably nothing."

They turned around and continued on their journey.

"And yours is..." Aeris went on, looking at Tifa. "I don't know, you make so much good stuff. Probably something exotic."

"Pizza!" Tifa said.

Aeris laughed and shook her head.

"I should have known."

"Place," Tifa went with.

Aeris made a face.

"That's a hard one," she said. "You used to spend a lot of time outdoors when you were a child, didn't you? Out in the open. In the forest around Nibelheim, or up in the mountains, I would imagine. Someplace like...Icicle Inn."

"Not exactly," Tifa said. "Outdoors, yes. But it could be anywhere, as long as it's at night under the stars."

"I'm not sure that qualifies as a place, exactly," Aeris said critically.

"It does too," Tifa insisted.

"Fine,' Aeris replied with mock severity. "What about me?"

"I don't know. I would think right here in Ifalnia."

Aeris thought for a moment.

"Yes, I guess so. Here in the church, with my flowers."

"Flower," Tifa said.

Aeris looked up.

"Hmmm. I tried exotic before and it didn't work. How bout...carnation."

"Carnation?" Tifa said. "What made you pick that?"

"I don't know," Aeris replied. "They're very pretty."

Tifa smiled.

"But I guess it would have to be a rose," she said. "Although I'm not much of a flower person, to tell the truth. Good thing too."

"What do you mean?" Aeris questioned.

"I've never gotten a rose," Tifa said.

"Never?" Aeris responded. "Cloud's never given you one?"

"Cloud? Nope," Tifa replied. "I think there's as much a chance of that happening as Elena has of getting one from Vincent. I mean, I love Cloud and all, but sometimes he has about as much romance in him as a wet rag."

Aeris giggled.

"I know. It reminds me of..."

She stopped. Tifa looked at her expectantly, but she did not continue.

"Of what?" Tifa prodded.

Aeris didn't reply. It reminded her of when Cloud had fallen through the roof in the church, and how he had gotten all nervous when she suggested a date as his reward for being her bodyguard. But she wasn't sure Tifa would appreciate that particular story.

"Oh nothing...never mind," she stammered.

Tifa just looked at her, obviously not impressed with that answer.

Aeris sighed inwardly. They knew so much more about each other now. It was true she had been attracted to Cloud, but at that time she hadn't known about his feelings for Tifa. It was stupid to feel bad about it now, wasn't it? It was obvious Tifa felt she was hiding something, and she didn't want to leave it at that. She realized the truth would probably be the best course of action right now.

"I'm sorry," Aeris said. "I was thinking about when I first met Cloud. When he fell through the roof of the church into my flower garden. I asked him to be my bodyguard. You knew that. And you know from when we were in the cell at Shinra headquarters that I promised him a date as a reward. I just...you just reminded me of that, and how funny he acted at the suggestion. Like he'd never been out on a date before."

She stopped, looking at Tifa, who just stood there for a moment. She could understand Aeris hesitation in bringing this up, and to tell the truth, she did feel a bit of resentment still. But it quickly passed. That had been so long ago, almost like another lifetime. When Aeris had realized how close Tifa and Cloud were, she had stepped aside. When it counted, she had done the right thing by her friend.

"It's alright," Tifa said with a reassuring smile. "He was kinda funny, wasn't he? With the both of us being so shy about it, it's a wonder we ever got together at all."

They had reached the edge of the lake. Aeris turned to the left. Tifa looked up and saw the gazebo was in that direction, not far down the road.

"Umm, if it's okay with you," she spoke up. "I'd rather go this way."

She pointed in the other direction.

Aeris shrugged.

"Fine by me," she replied.

They turned and walked along the lake, away from the gazebo. It was funny, Tifa thought. The sight of the place where Sephiroth had stabbed Aeris still make her uncomfortable, even though Aeris, who was the one who had been stabbed, after all, didn't seem affected by it at all. Tifa just couldn't see how Aeris could have, not forgotten, but so totally gotten over what had happened there.

They walked for a minute, getting closer to the lake, onto the grass. Tifa looked back, but the gazebo was no longer in sight.

"Let's rest a bit," she suggested.

They both sat down by the edge of the lake. Suddenly Tifa's hand came up to her stomach.

"What?" Aeris questioned.

"The baby's kicking," Tifa said.

"Oh, let me feel!"

Aeris scrambled over. Tifa took her hand and placed it on her stomach. Aeris stood there for a moment, then a thrill seemed to travel through her.

"I can feel it!" she exclaimed.

They both stood there for a few moments, until the kicking subsided.

"Frisky little fellow," Aeris observed.

"Just like his dad," Tifa said.

"His?" Aeris questioned.

Tifa shrugged.

"I have to call him something. 'It' just doesn't sound good. But I don't really care if it's a boy or a girl."

"Do you have a name picked out?"

"Not really," Tifa replied. "I assume if it's a boy it'll be Cloud Jr. And a girl...I don't know. We haven't really discussed it yet."

"Well, there's still plenty of time," Aeris said.

Tifa lay back, putting her hands behind her head and looking up.

"What is it about guys that they always want to name their kids after themselves? You never hear of a girl wanting to do that with a daughter. I mean, it's so stupid, and confusing."

"I don't know," Aeris replied. "Some kind of ego thing I guess. That's their namesake you know. Carry on the family tradition and all that. Seems to be a big thing for them though."

"Yeah," Tifa replied. She looked above her. There was no sky here, of course. They were underground. Though it was almost as light as day here on the ground, it faded out quickly into darkness above them.

It almost seemed like a dream sometimes, Tifa thought. She was married to Cloud. She was about to have a child with him. It seemed like all her dreams had come true. It was funny. She had thought for a longest time she would never be happy, she would never obtain her dreams. And now that she had, she didn't seem to be able to enjoy it. She kept thinking that something was bound to go wrong, that this was too good to be true. That somehow she didn't deserve this, didn't deserve to be happy. This should be the best time of her life, but every time she talked about the baby, in the back of her mind she remembered the nightmares she was having, and the predictions Jinn had made. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair that this should haunt her now. Not now.

Aeris looked over at her.

"You got awfully quiet all of a sudden," she said. "What are you thinking about?"

Tifa shrugged.

"About stupid things," she replied. "About those predictions of Jinn's. I know. I know you all told me they weren't going to come true. But I can't help but worry. Even...even if the baby is perfectly normal, the world is still a dangerous place. I know we tried to make it better, but how well have we really succeeded? Sure we got rid of Shinra, but there's plenty of other companies out there ready to take it's place, plenty of other people willing to hurt others for their own gain. I'm just scared sometimes Aeris. I'm scared of the world I'm bringing this baby into. I never realized before how many things there were to worry about."

Aeris nodded slowly.

"All life is a risk," she said. "No one has any guarantees. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't take the chance. We'll all be here for you, you know that. With Avalanche looking after it, I'd say the baby has some pretty powerful protectors."

Tifa smiled.

"I guess," she agreed. She had to admit it was a comfort to know that what Aeris said was true, that she had such a group of friends. But that also reminded her pointedly of their absence, and how much missed them. How much she missed Cloud. More than anything she wished this was all over and they could be together again.

* * *

The blonde haired woman walked slowly down the street. She didn't like the City of the Ancients, or Iflania, as it was now more commonly called. The odd architecture, the strange alien glow. It wasn't normal. It was like being on another planet, in fact. If some weird alien creature sauntered by, she suspected no one would give it a second glance. The whole place gave her the creeps.

She looked around slowly. It was mid afternoon on the surface. The streets were crowded with people going about their business. She paused for a moment to watch some of them, but the people at least seemed perfectly normal, perfectly at ease, appearing not at all affected by the strange surroundings. She supposed, given enough time, a person could get used to just about anything.

Still, she couldn't help but wonder whatever possessed them to move here in the first place. There were plenty of other cities to choose from. Plenty of other cities on the surface, filled with normal humans, just like they ought to be. Given the choice, why would any human want to come live in an alien city? It certainly wasn't someplace she would have chosen as a home.

She shook her head and walked on. She couldn't comprehend why these people would want to live here, in a city controlled by a Cetra, controlled by a non human. Her only conclusion was these people were weak. Just sheep, that's all they were. And as such, of no consequence.

She turned a corner, picking up her pace. The Church of Humanity was just down the block. She wanted to get there and then out of here as quickly as possible.

Suddenly she froze dead in her tracks. She was still glancing at the people as she walked. Coming down the street in front of her she saw someone she recognized.

A shock ran through her whole body, snaking up from her toes to her head, and seeming to settle in the thin scar that ran across her cheek. Her hand came up absently to touch it. Did it feel warmer to her hand than it usually did? Did it somehow feel the presence of the one responsible? Or was that just her face flushing with heat from her hatred?

There were two of them, the blonde woman noticed. Though she had never seen the second girl, she recognized her from the description. Aeris Gainsborough and Tifa Lockheart, or Strife, or whatever the hell her last name was now. They were walking down the street straight toward her, talking as if they didn't have a care in the world.

She turned away, staring into the window of a nearby storefront. She wasn't sure if she would be remembered, but she certainly didn't want to be recognized now. She bowed her head, opening her pocketbook and fiddling with her make up. They were walking right behind her now.

"Actually it's an ice cream sandwich."

"Really? I never see you eat ice cream."

Their voices faded as they went past. The blonde turned around to look at them as they walked away, her eyes narrowing. She felt her hand begin to hurt. She looked down and saw that her knuckles were white, her fingers aching from the compact whose edges were digging into her hand, her hand that had involuntarily tightened around it. She was so close. They weren't paying any attention to her. She pushed aside some of the items in her purse to reveal a knife at the bottom She looked up again at the two girls walking away from her. They were oblivious. She could just walk up right behind them. She could practically feel herself driving the knife into the woman's back, forcing it deep into her, twisting it vengefully, and the look in her eyes as she turned to see who it was, who it was that was snuffing out her life.

Suddenly the two of them stopped. One of them turned around toward her. The woman immediately turned away and started down the street in the opposite direction. Feeling her heart suddenly pounding in her chest, she took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. How many times had that fantasy played out in her head? But she wasn't ready. This wasn't the time. She had a plan, and she intended to stick to it. It had served her well so far. When her revenge finally took place, it would only be that much sweeter.

She hurried on her way. A few moments later she stepped through the doors of the Church of Humanity.

She eyes scanned the interior. The place was nearly empty. Not surprising considering the hour. Not too many people frequented church in the late afternoon, especially on a weekday. A young man passed nearby dressed in some kind of robes. An altar boy or something, she supposed.

"Excuse me," she said. "Could you tell Mr. Bradford that..."

"Ahh, Miss Gram, so good of you to drop by."

She spun around at the sound of the voice to see Gilan Bradford standing behind her. She looked around for a moment. She hadn't seen him when she came in. Where the hell had he come from?

"Hello Mr. Bradford," she said. "Nice to see you."

Gilan smiled. But that didn't put her at ease. He had come to her attention when one of his parishioners who worked for Vanguard had come to her soliciting gil for the church. Ordinarily she would have thrown the man out on his ass, but the man had caught her attention when he had ranted about how the Cetra were poisoning the human race and how every true human being owed it to themselves to do something about it. She didn't give a shit about what the Cetra were up to, but the fact that Aeris Gainsborough was a member of the hated Avalanche was not lost on her. Anyone who was against one of them couldn't be all bad, and might be useful to her somewhere down the line. She had ended up donating generously. In fact, it had been funds from Vanguard that had allowed Gilan to build the church here in Ifalnia in the first place.

She had met Gilan a few times in person, but not often. She wasn't sure what it was, but something about him made her uncomfortable. She couldn't quite put her finger on exactly what it was. Every time they had spoken he had been a perfect gentleman. She had only met him here in Ifalnia. Perhaps it was the surroundings and not the man himself that bothered her.

Gilan escorted her into his office and offered her a seat.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked.

She wanted to say whiskey, but somehow she didn't think that was quite what he had in mind.

"No thank you," she replied, sitting down. "This isn't exactly a social visit. I have some information."

Gilan sat down behind his desk and looked at her. She fidgeted in her chair, feeling vaguely uneasy, though she had no idea why.

"I have it from a good source that the Ancient is looking to expand her church into other cities," she said.

Gilan did not reply, but his face showed a look of concern, and he leaned forward in his chair.

She placed her briefcase on the desk and opened it up. She sifted through the papers for a moment, then pulled some out and placed them on the desk.

"Yes," she continued. "Her followers have already petitioned to start construction of new churches in Icicle Inn, Rocket Town and Kalm. I have copies of the requests for permits. And I have it from reliable sources that they are looking into Wutai and Gongaga as well. It looks to me like the Miss. Gainsborough is planning a massive expansion of her influence."

Gilan sat there for a moment with a frown on his face. This news of course, was extremely upsetting. He hadn't realized the Cetra had any plans at all to expand. It was bad enough to have the Ancient influence in just one town. How much more difficult would it be stop her if she expanded to other cities? He had not expected this. It was a complete surprise.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I had no idea of her intentions. This is very serious."

The woman nodded in agreement.

"I'm sure you realize how much more difficult it will be to stop her once this takes place. I think it would be best if we prevented this from happening in the first place."

"Yes," Gilan agreed, standing up slowly. "That would be best, but it will be difficult. Unfortunately, there are no laws to prevent non humans from doing such a thing. Though I have been doing all I can to make the people see the truth about the Ancients, to make them see how misguided they are to support them, I'm afraid she still has a large following in the general population."

"You have to do more," the woman said quickly. "I know it's not easy, but you're our only line of defense against her. No one else has the courage to stand up and speak the truth. All the others are intimidated by her, or have fallen for her charms. If you don't stop her here, then I don't think anyone will be able to."

Gilan nodded again.

"I'll do what I can," he said. "It's not easy, but of course you are right. Though we have many followers, there is still a long way to go. She still has many friends, but even they may listen to reason. Mrs. Strife seemed like she might be willing to have an open mind about this when she came in here..."

"Tifa Strife was here?" The woman cut him off, standing up suddenly.

"Yes," Gilan replied.

"And you let her go?"

Gilan looked at her curiously.

"Of course I let her go," he replied. "What did you expect me to do, lock her up until she saw the light? She may be misguided, but she's a human being, just like you and me, not a Cetra. I'm not going to hurt any humans if I can avoid it. Besides, she may be able to help us."

The woman looked down at the ground. She was here. Tifa was here, probably standing in this very spot. She felt her hands tighten into fists, and had to will herself to relax once again.

"Of course," she said, forcing a smile onto her face. "I don't want anyone to get hurt either, if it can be helped. But you and I both know it's naïve to think they won't be any casualties. Whether these people know it or not, this is war. War for the soul of the human race. If people have to die to save us, then isn't that better than falling to the will of the Cetra? If someone has to sacrifice themselves for the human race, wouldn't it be an honor to do so? If this turns violent, it will be because the Cetra won't listen to reason, not because of anything we did. You know that."

Gilan placed his hands behind his back, looking past her at the bookcase on the wall.

"Yes," he agreed. "We all know that violence might come of this. In a holy war someone has to be willing to pay the ultimate price. Evil can not be stopped without sacrifice. Still, I will not hurt humans unless there is no other choice.'

The woman looked at her watch.

"Fine," she replied. She wasn't all that happy with his reply. She had hoped that he would be a little more pragmatic about this, a little bit more willing to sacrifice for his cause, for the good of the whole. She had hoped he would be fanatical enough to do just about anything to stop the Cetra. She had hoped that her story would be enough to force him into drastic action. She didn't seem to have quite attained that goal, but that didn't mean that she would give up hope that she could eventually. But apparently that would have to wait.

"I'm afraid I have to be going," she said. "I have some meetings to attend. I just wanted you to be aware of this. Whatever you do, I suggest you do it soon. The permits in Kalm and Icicle Inn are already up for review. Although I have people working on it, they say there probably isn't much we can do to prevent them from going through. I'm afraid if you don't put a stop to this here, pretty soon you're going to have a multi headed monster on you hands."

"I understand," Gilan said. "I'm only one man, but I'll do what I can."

The woman nodded. She wanted to say more, but for some reason held her tongue. She felt a little disoriented, and she wasn't sure when it had started, but she felt an ache in her temples, not a splitting headache, but just enough to be discomforting.

"I guess that's all I can expect," she said. "Good day."

"To you too," Gilan said. He sat back down in his chair as Miss Gram walked out the door, his chin propped up on his hand. It was obvious that the woman had more on her mind than she had let on. She had been very helpful so far, but she was not a true believer. He had a feeling her motives were a lot more personal than that. She seemed to have something against Miss. Gainsborough, or perhaps one of her friends. It might make her more difficult to deal with, but he didn't mind. It really wasn't any of his business. As long as she supported the church, he didn't care what her motives were. And so far she had been very supportive. More disturbing was the news she had given him about the Cetra's plans to expand her church. That was extremely upsetting. No matter what Miss Gram's motives may be she was right about that. He would have to do something about that, and he would have to do it soon.


	11. Digging Deep for Answers

CHAPTER XI

DIGGING DEEP FOR ANSWERS

Reeve flopped on his back on the ground.

"I need to rest," he sighed.

The others sank down wearily beside him, none of them in any mood to argue. Cloud leaned back against the trunk of a huge oak tree. He dropped his sword beside him and wiped the sweat from his brow. The Slipstream couldn't land in the middle of the woods. It had taken them two hours of hiking through dense forest just to get back to this area. And for the next two hours they had been in almost constant battle. The surrounding woods were literally crawling with monsters, much more than they had met anywhere else. It seemed beyond a doubt now that they were close to the source, yet, in spite of their searching, it stubbornly refused to reveal itself.

"How much longer can this go on?" Cid grumbled.

"There seems to be an endless supply," Red commented. "I suppose we should be grateful for this respite."

Cid just gave him a look, obviously wanting an answer that was a bit less pessimistic.

Cloud rubbed his hands across his face. He was exhausted. He looked around slowly at the others. If anything, they were in even worse shape. Reeve was lying flat on his back, staring up at the sky. Red and Nipala were curled up on the grass nearby, their fur matted and splotched with the blood of their foes. Cid looked like he was going to keel over at any moment. They were all exhausted and dirty. Only Cait seemed unperturbed, standing quietly nearby. Sometimes being a robot had it's advantages, Cloud thought.

They would have to go back soon. He didn't want to, but there wasn't any choice. He knew they were close. He could feel it. He was surprised and a little worried that they hadn't found what they were looking for yet. In spite of him telling himself not to get his hopes up, he realized he had. It would be a serious blow to moral if they returned to Corel today unsuccessful. But they wouldn't be able to fight for much longer. There was no getting around that. They were too tired. He could tell they were pushing the envelope even now, and they were lucky that no one had been seriously hurt already. If they kept it up it was only a matter of time.

Cloud leaned his head back and looked up at the broad branches above him. The sun filtered through the leaves, casting a dappled shadow around him. In front of him the ground sloped up to the top of a hill. The branches of the trees up there swayed in a gentle breeze, but down here the hills sheltered them from the wind. It was stiflingly hot, and he suddenly had a strong desire to feel that breeze on his face.

In spite of his exhaustion he pulled himself to his feet with a grunt. The others looked at him.

"Where ya goin'?" Cid questioned.

Cloud nodded toward the top of the hill.

"To get some air," he replied.

The others nodded, but none seemed inclined to join him. He walked wearily up the slope. He kept his eyes open, alert for any monsters that might be lurking in the bush nearby, but all was quiet. Even before he reached the top of the ridge he felt cool air blowing softly across his face. When he reached the top he took a deep breath. Though he was still tired the breeze was suprisingly invigorating. He looked back down at the others below, thinking he should call them up, but decided against it. They seemed comfortable enough. Better to let them rest while they could.

He sat down again on a rocky outcrop at the very top of the ledge. Another valley fell away below in front of him. And past that another ridge rose up, and then another, and another. This whole area seemed to be made up entirely of huge furrows, as if a giant fork had been raked across the land, over and over. The up and down nature of travel had made the trip in here take twice as long as it should have and seem twice as hard. It was no wonder this area was so uninhabited. With almost no flat land and the soil so rocky, it wasn't suited for farming or building.

A cry made Cloud look up. A hawk glided through the air along the opposite ridge, it's wings motionless, upheld by it's own speed and the drifting air currents, it's eyes keenly surveying the land below for any sign of prey.

But it's eyes did not spot the dark shadow swooping down from above.

Cloud saw it. A flying lizardlike creature. It was hard to pick out details from this distance. Cloud wasn't sure where it came from. He supposed it must have come from over the ridge, but it almost seemed to have appeared out of thin air. It flapped it's wings strongly, moving in quickly above and behind the hawk. Then it suddenly folded it's wings and dove.

A moment before impact the hawk must have detected something, for it suddenly dipped to the side. But it was too late. Before it could dodge the claws of the other creature snapped it up, and the predator had suddenly become prey.

The creature reversed itself, turning round and dipping low, suddenly heading straight for Cloud. The young warrior stood up, lifting his sword. But the creature, picking up even more speed as it descended, shot ten feet over his head and down into the valley below. Cloud watched as it turned again, heading for a rocky area on the far slope. And for a moment Cloud was sure it was going to slam right into the ground. But as quickly as it had appeared it suddenly vanished into a narrow crevice in the rock.

Cloud stood there for a long time looking down at the opposite ridge. He didn't think the creature was attempting to commit suicide. From the speed it was going, the crevice would have to be very deep in order for it to land safely. Very deep indeed. It appeared he had found the entrance to a cave.

And that got him thinking. They hadn't seen anything from the air. They had searched the entire area with the Slipstream and found nothing. If a mako reactor had been built here, it was impossible to hide all sign of it. They would have had to have seen _something_. They would have had to, that is, unless the reactor was underground.

He turned and looked back down at the others.

"Hey, come up here," he called out. "I think I've found something."

The others looked up at him, obviously not anxious to comply. But after a moment, and with more than a few grumbles, they got to their feet and trudged up the slope.

When they reached him Cloud pointed to the crevice below.

"There's a cave down there," he said. "I saw a monster go in it. Perhaps that might be where they're coming from. Perhaps the mako reactor is underground, and that's why we can't find any sign of it."

Cid looked down skeptically.

"I don't see anything," he said.

"It's right there," he pointed. "I told you, I saw a monster go in it."

Cid looked again, then shook his head and shrugged.

"It may be there," he replied. "But I can't see it."

"You will soon enough," Cloud snapped. "All we have to do is go down there."

Reeve sighed.

"Even if there is a cave, that doesn't necessarily mean anything," Red pointed out. "There may be plenty of natural caves in this area. It might have nothing to do with the mako. And even if it does, if it really is underground, then it's a good possibility that it could be some natural source, and not a mako reactor at all."

Cloud hesitated a moment, a little annoyed at everyone's negative attitude.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," he said brusquely. "Maybe it's a natural source, maybe it's a mako reactor. Either way, we're not going to find out anything by standing around here discussing it. I don't care what anyone thinks. I'm going to check it out."

Not caring whether anyone followed, he started to scramble down the slope. With varying degrees of enthusiasm, the others followed.

The bottom of the furrow was thickly wooded, making passage difficult. Cloud nearly had to hack his way through the underbrush. By the time he started up the opposite slope, he was covered with scratches and sweating once again.

The crevice was bigger than it had looked from the far side. A jagged opening, about fifteen feet wide but only about five feet high. He stopped for a minute at the entrance to look inside. All he could see was bare rock, although he couldn't see very far. He kept his blade ready. If this really led to the source of the mako, artificial or not, it seemed likely they'd run into more monsters before they reached it.

"See anything?" Nipala asked.

"Nope," he replied.

He stepped inside, walking slowly, crouching down uncomfortably to fit. The ground was covered with a fine gray sand. There were no tracks. It was noticeably cooler in the cave. It felt refreshing, but he wasn't really paying much attention to that.

The cave expanded a few feet in, and he could stand up straight. The light from outside did not penetrate very far, and he could only see a few feet in front of him before it faded into darkness.

"Damn," he muttered.

"What's wrong?" Cid said from right behind him, his voice sounding overly loud and echoing in the cave around them.

"It's pitch black," he replied. "We're not going to be able to go very far without a light."

He was about to curse himself for not thinking to bring one when he heard a click and a beam of light illuminated the far wall. He turned to see Reeve holding a flashlight in his hand.

"Where'd you get that from?" Cid questioned.

"I had it in my backpack, just in case," Reeve replied.

"All right Reeve," Cloud said, relieved.

Nipala padded forward and peered into the darkness in front of them.

"It looks like this passage might go on for quite a ways," she said. "This whole area could be riddled with caves. For all we know, this could go on for miles. If something is down here, it might be as hard to find as something on the surface. And down here we have the added concern of trying to keep track of where we're going. I'd hate to get lost down here."

"Ummm," Cloud said slowly. This was getting more complicated then he had thought.

"Maybe if we left a trail of some kind," Cid said slowly, looking around. "Hey Reeve, got any string in that backpack of yours?"

Reeve shook his head.

"Nope, just some rope," he replied. "But I'm afraid it's much too short to be used for that purpose."

"Well, if we keep turning in the same direction, say, we only make lefts, it shouldn't be difficult to retrace our steps," Red suggested.

"Would that work?" Cid asked.

"Sure," Red replied. "It's a standard tactic used to get through simple mazes. It should work."

"Should work?" Nipala said dubiously.

"Yes," Red replied. "The basic principle is sound."

Cid shook his head.

"I'm not too keen on 'should work' myself," he stated. "Things always seem to have a habit of going wrong if it's at all possible."

"Murphy's Law," Red commented.

"Murphy's what?"

"Murphy's Law," Red repeated. "Whatever can go wrong, will."

Cid scratched his head.

"If that means this ain't a good idea, then I agree," he said.

"What about Cait, can he keep track of where we're going?" Nipala suggested.

They turned to look at Reeve.

"No problem," Cait spoke up. "It shouldn't be hard to keep track of the turns we make."

The others did not reply, just continued to look at Reeve.

"What, you don't believe me?" Cait questioned.

"He should be able to do it," Reeve stated.

"Great, there's that 'should' word again," Cid muttered.

"I can do it!" Cait said.

"He can store any turns we make in his memory," Reeve continued. "It's not like he will forget. He should be able to retrace our steps no matter what we do."

"I'm still rather fond of the string idea," Cid cut in.

"Cid, we don't _have_ any string," Cloud reminded him.

"We could go back and get some," Cid pointed out.

"Is anyone listening to me?" Cait exclaimed.

"That would take hours," Cloud responded. "We'd have to come back tomorrow."

"So? We were planning on being here as long as it took. One day's not going to make much of a difference."

"I want to get it over with!" Cloud said petulantly. He knew he was being impatient, he knew he was letting his emotions get the better of him, but he didn't care. Some people had to plan things out carefully, and some people got by winging it. He fell into the latter class.

"Can't blame you there, but still," Cid said.

"Perhaps Cid is right," Red weighed in. "It would be best to be prepared."

"I am?" Cid said, looking at Red in surprise.

Red gave him a look.

"Yes, you are," he repeated.

"But Reeve says Cait can do it, and I trust his judgement," Cloud stated.

"What about _my_ judgement?" Cait demanded.

They looked at Reeve again, who nodded.

"He can."

"All right, then we don't have to go back," Cloud said firmly, looking at the others.

Cid shrugged.

"Never thought we'd have to depend on Cait, but you're the boss," he said.

"Helloooo?" Cait said.

Cloud looked at Red.

"It may not be prudent, but you've proven that careful planning doesn't count for everything," Red said. "Sometimes you have to trust your instincts, and yours always seem to manage to lead us down the right path eventually. We can only have one leader. If you say we go, then we go."

Cloud nodded, grateful for the vote of confidence.

"Then let's go," he said.

Without anymore discussion he started off. Reeve came up behind him, shining the light deeper into the cavern. The others all followed, until Cait was standing there by himself.

"If I just stood here, you probably wouldn't even notice I was missing," he grumbled. "I've got a good mind to purposely lead you purposely astray. It would serve you right."

Cid, who was last in line, turned back to look at him.

"Would you quit your mumbling and get a move on!' he growled. "You're gonna get left behind."

At the front of the group Cloud picked his way forward. The ground sloped down slightly. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, some of them reaching almost to the floor, and some just at head height, making walking treacherous. Reeve was right behind Cloud, shining the light ahead.

It soon became obvious that Nipala was right about at least one thing, the cave went on for quite a ways. In the darkness they couldn't move particularly quickly. The rush of adrenaline that Cloud had felt at the discovery of the cave quickly faded away as they proceeded. He had hoped that now that they had finally found something the end of this was in sight, but now he wasn't so sure. If these really did go on for miles, they might have to wander around down here for days. And that prospect seemed even worse than searching the forest above. They couldn't see what was ahead of them. They couldn't tell if hundreds of creatures weren't waiting around the next turn. If they did run into anything, their lines of retreat were limited and could easily be cut off. Add to that the fact that it was going to be a nightmare to figure out where they were going, how to get back, and where exactly they had already covered, and suddenly the idea of searching though miles of forest began to seem like a piece of cake.

"Cait, can you tell which direction we're headed?" he called behind him.

There was no answer. Cloud turned around as Cait pushed his way up from the back.

"We're headed northwest right now," he replied.

Cloud nodded.

"Try to keep track," he said. "We don't want to end up going in circles. I'd like to keep us heading in a northerly direction."

"Whatever you say," Cait replied.

"Why north?" Red questioned.

Cloud shrugged.

"Intuition."

Cloud led them on, stopping to consult with Cait at each turn to decide which one kept them on the right track. And he did a lot of consulting. The tunnel was constantly branching, sometimes into three of four separate tunnels at once. The farther along they went, the more pessimistic Cloud became. It looked like his worst fears were being realized. Searching through all these tunnels was going to be a nightmare.

The colors of the rock walls of the cavern varied from light yellow to a deep russet red to brown to almost black. One could clearly see the layers of the rock as it had been laid down over the course of countless years. The overall effect was quite eye catching, even though they all had other things to think about.

The ground continued to slope gently downward, and as they progressed they began to notice the presence of water. At first it only dampened the wall, a few drops of condensation appearing on some of the rocks. But the farther along they progressed, the more evident it became. Soon the walls were thick with moisture, and they could feel the dampness in the air, filling their lungs and clinging to their clothes uncomfortably. Eventually they began to see open pools of water in depressions on the floor. Cloud wondered what lay ahead. He didn't relish the idea of doing any swimming on top of what they'd had to put up with already.

A glint of white stood out in the cone of light ahead of them. Reeve's flashlight had flickered across it quickly, but immediately moved back. It took them only a moment to recognize the distinctive shape of bones on the cavern floor ahead.

No one said a word. They walked over to the bones. It was a single person. The bones were lying by the side of the tunnel, his (or her) head resting on the wall. The skeleton was still almost intact, and fully clothed. The clothing in fact, seemed in remarkably good condition. A hard hat, dark blue pants and lighter shirt made of a thick material, and workman's boots.

Cloud bent down to examine the body.

"This looks like a construction worker," he said with a tinge of excitement.

"What makes you say that?" Nipala questioned.

"The hard hat, the boots, it all looks likes something a construction worker would wear," Cloud replied.

"Perhaps," Red stated. "But not necessarily. I would think any spelunker would wear similar gear. Don't jump to conclusions"

"Splunk-what?" Cid cut in.

"Spelunker," Red replied. "Someone who explores caves."

"Oh," Cid said. "So why didn't you say so?"

"I thought I did," Red replied seriously.

"So you think it might just be someone who was exploring the cave and got lost?" Reeve questioned.

"I don't think we can rule that out," Red replied. "Or maybe he wasn't an explorer, maybe he just wandered in here accidentally."

"Who would do something like that?" Cid questioned skeptically.

"We're here, aren't we?" Red responded.

Reluctantly, Cloud fished through the corpse's pockets. He wasn't anxious to disturb the remains, but he needed information. Unfortunately, the man's pockets were empty. That in itself seemed kind of unusual. Most people carried some form of ID with them no matter where they went. Had the man deliberately left it behind because he didn't want to be recognized, or had someone been here before them and removed it. To what purpose? Was there some evil design here, or had this been some kind of accident?

He shook his head. Someone was here, but without some form of identification, without some way of knowing the man's purpose, it really didn't prove anything. He wanted to believe this was a construction worker. He wanted to believe the man had been working on the reactor and had somehow gotten lost in the caves. He wanted to believe this was the clue they were looking for. But did he want to believe that so strongly he was reading more into this than was there? Was he trying to convince himself?

There was nothing more on the body. No other clues. He was about to stand up again when he noticed a rectangular shaped card lying in the dirt beside the body with a clip on it. It was almost completely covered with dirt, which was why he hadn't noticed it earlier. He picked it up and brushed the dirt off it. The others leaned closer. They could all see writing on the card.

"It's an ID badge," Cloud said slowly. "It must have fallen off his shirt. His name was Darmon Sandlow, and it looks like we're on the right track after all."

He turned and held the badge up so they could all see it more clearly. The man's name was written across the top, and underneath it they could all plainly see the words Vanguard Inc. and the company logo.

"I'll be dammed," Cid muttered.

"I'd say this proves this wasn't just a cave explorer with bad luck."

Red nodded.

"Although not definitive, for the first time we have evidence to back up your assertion that this is not a natural phenomena. After all we know about Vanguard, it seems too much of a coincidence that someone from that company would be wandering around here by chance."

"All right then," Cloud said, standing up. "Let's keep going."

He started forward again, walking quickly, more determined than ever to get to the bottom of this. The passage curved sharply to the left, and when they came around the turn the tunnel branched into three separate passageways.

Cloud stopped.

"Cait, which way is most north?" he asked.

Cait hesitated a moment, then pointed to the left one.

"That one," he said.

Cloud nodded and started forward.

"Wait," Nipala said.

Cloud turned to face her. She walked past him, up to the entrance of each tunnel, her nose to the ground. After a moment she looked back at him.

"He came from this one," she said, indicating the middle one.

"You can follow his scent?" Cid said, unnecessarily.

Nipala nodded.

"It's still fresh enough," she said. "It's faint, but detectable."

"Excellent," Cloud said with a grin. It seemed things were suddenly starting to look up. Perhaps their dead friend could lead them right to where they wanted to go.

"Lead on," he said.

Nipala nodded and took the lead, Reeve falling in behind her, shining the light ahead. They made good progress. When there were no turn offs, it was obvious which way the man had taken. They only had to stop and use Nipala or Red's nose at any branches, and it usually only took them a few moments to detect the correct path.

The ground continued to slope downward, as it had since almost the moment they had entered the cave. Cloud wondered how far below ground they were. Miles, probably. He glanced up, wondering how many tons of rocks lay above their heads. More than enough to bury them without a trace should it come down on them. But that really wasn't a good topic to dwell on.

Nipala stopped for a moment, and they could see in the light that the cavern floor in front of her was covered with water.

"Can you follow his scent through that?" Cid asked.

Nipala shook her head.

"No, I can't," she replied. "Let's just hope it doesn't go very far."

"And that it's not too deep," Reeve added.

Nipala nodded but did not reply. She stepped into the water, the others following. It was not deep, at least, not yet, but it was icy cold. Still, that certainly wasn't going to stop them.

"Well, if that guy came this way, we have to assume that we can through as well," Cid stated logically.

"Unless the water had gotten deeper since he passed this way," Red suggested pessimistically.

"Nipala, you said the scent was fresh, which means he couldn't have been there that long," Cid reminded them. "So it's likely the water level hasn't changed."

"True, but that's a relative term," Red responded. "We don't know what the water level is like down here. For all we know it could fluctuate daily, or even hourly."

"Damn you're being pessimistic today," Cid growled. "That's not likely, is it?"

"No, it's not," Red agreed.

If they had anymore to say on the subject it was rendered moot. After traveling about thirty meters they looked ahead and saw the trail slope up slightly, out of the water.

They picked up their pace, gratefully stepping on to dry land once more. As focused as they had been on the water, they hadn't noticed the walls of the cavern slowly receding on each side of them. Now they suddenly noticed that the cavern had widened considerably. Reeve flashed the light around them and saw the walls and ceiling were barely discernable in the distance. The cavern had become huge.

Not that that was particularly significant. Cloud was more concerned with Nipala, who circled around for a minute, then, much to his relief, announced she had picked up the scent again.

She led them forward once more. The cavern floor here was level and covered with fine sand. To their left they saw another pool of water, the largest one yet. Nipala led them straight ahead, and soon the far wall hove into view. As they got closer to it, Cloud noticed that there seemed to be no tunnel in the wall ahead.

Eventually Nipala led them right up to the wall and stopped. She looked around, puzzled.

"The scent ends here," she said.

"But it's a dead end," Cait enlightened them.

"No shit," Cid grumbled.

Reeve shone the light along the wall, first to the left, and then right, but they could see no opening.

"You must have lost it somehow," Cloud said. "It's got to be around here somewhere."

Nipala nodded and padded off to the left, while Red went right, traveling along the base of the wall. They both went to the limit of visibility, but found nothing.

"Well, he couldn't just have appeared out of thin air," Cloud said, frustrated.

"Maybe there's a secret passage?" Cait suggested.

Cid scoffed, but even so stepped forward and examined the wall.

Red looked thoughtful.

"Perhaps we are thinking too two dimensionally," he said.

"Huh?" Cid questioned.

Red nodded upward.

Reeve lifted the light up the wall. About fifteen feet up a dark hole could be seen.

"There you go," Cloud said with satisfaction. "Good thinking Red."

"Yeah," Cid agreed. "But how are we going to get up there?"

"Reeve has a rope," Nipala reminded them.

"Yeah, but that doesn't do us much good unless there's someone up there to throw it down to us," Reeve said. "How do we get the rope up there?"

Cloud looked up, running his hand along the wall.

"Someone will have to climb," he said. "It's not that far. Cid, if you boost me up, I'll practically be able to reach it. I think I'd be able to climb the rest of the way."

"Sounds good to me," Cid agreed.

The task proved surprisingly easy. The wall of the cavern was rough, providing ready handholds. A few moments after Cid boosted him up, he was hauling himself onto the ledge above.

"Throw up the light," he called down.

Reeve tossed it up to him. He caught it and turned around, shining it down a comfortably large passage.

"Looks good," he announced. "Now throw up the rope."

A few minutes later they had all climbed up to the ledge.Cloud turned and led them into the new tunnel. For the first time, the ground in front of them sloped upward. Cloud supposed that was a good thing, but now that they had a trail to follow, he really didn't care one way or the other. As they progressed, however, the angle became sharper, the slope steeper, more difficult to travel. Soon they found themselves huffing and puffing, working their up the steep slope, and slipping and falling began to become a concern.

Finally the ground leveled off, and they found themselves entering another huge cavern. This one might even have been bigger than the last. Cloud flashed the light around the room, and could see no sign of the ceiling or the far wall. But for the first time he detected something else, the feel of moving air on his face.

"There's a breeze here," he commented, wondering if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The ground here was uneven, and was solid rock. Cloud swept the light ahead of them, and suddenly the saw a dark pit on the floor in front of them.

Cloud approached it cautiously. As they got closer he realized it wasn't a pit, it was an abyss. The ground just dropped off right in front of them. He reached the edge and shone the light down, but he could not see the bottom. Lifting the light up, they could just make out the other side.

"Great," Cid muttered "How are we supposed to get across this? Fly?"

"The man who's trail we are following had to have crossed it," Cloud said. "There must be a way."

Again Nipala and Red's sense of smell were called into play. It took them only a moment.

"This way," Red called out and led them to the right.

They walked along the pit, being careful to stay well away from the edge. They only had to travel a short distance when they came upon a narrow spur of rock that spanned the dark hole beside them. They stopped once more. The bridge of rock was only a foot or two wide, and didn't look all that sturdy. Cid looked at it dubiously.

"Don't tell me we have to cross that,"

Nipala walked up to the edge of it.

"I'm afraid so," she said. "He definitely came this way."

Cid groaned.

"Maybe there's another way," Reeve suggested.

Cloud just gave them all a look.

"He crossed it. If he can, we can too."

"Cloud.." Red began, but Cloud wasn't listening. Instead he started across the span.

"Be careful," Nipala called out.

Cloud nodded but said nothing. The span was actually wide enough to walk over without too much trouble. If it hadn't been over a seemingly bottomless abyss, he knew none of them would have any trouble crossing it. But the fact that one slip could send you plunging to your doom made it a bit more nerve wracking. He tried to concentrate on the rock in front of him, and not the blackness surrounding it. The good thing was, because of the darkness he couldn't see just how far he would fall if he slipped.

At any rate, he made it across without incident. He turned and shined the light on the bridge for the others.

"C'mon," he said. "It's not too bad."

None of them took him at his word.

Nevertheless they followed, some more reluctantly than others. Nipala and Cait walked across quickly, almost casually. Red, much more cautiously. Cid stood at the edge for a long time without moving.

"You're a pilot," Reeve reminded him. "Don't tell me you're afraid of heights."

"It's not the same thing!" Cid snapped. "Just give me a minute, willya?"

After working up his courage Cid inched his way across, by far the slowest of them all, but he still managed to make it without incident.

Reeve was last. The bridge looked a lot narrower once you were standing on it, and Reeve became a lot more sympathetic to Cid. Nevertheless, Cloud was right, it was wide enough to cross comfortably, if one didn't think too much about the consequences of falling.

He was nearly across when he noticed the dark shadow sweeping down on the others from above.

Nipala saw it at almost the same time.

"Watch out!" she cried.

Cloud threw himself out of the way, but not quickly enough to escape the claw that raked across his head. At the same time he swung his sword. He heard a cry, and the beast turned and dropped down, disappearing into the void beside them. From the glimpse he got, Cloud thought it was the same creature he had seen fly into the cave earlier.

But this time it wasn't alone. At least three more of the creatures appeared out of the darkness.

While the others fought, Reeve moved as quickly as he dared across the bridge, trying to get on solid ground. So far none of the creatures had targeted him. But that could change at any second, and he didn't care for his chances of staying on the bridge while trying to hold off one of their attacks.

But it was hard. Not only did he have to watch his footing, but he had to stop every few seconds to look around to see if any of the creatures were coming after him. He didn't want them to catch him unprepared.

Which was a lucky thing, for when one finally did turn toward him, he managed to duck out of the way as it's claws slashed past him.

He teetered on the edge for a moment before finding his footing once more. He was almost across now, and with a sudden desperate lung, he was back on solid ground. Even as he made it, more of the creatures appeared from the darkness above.

"There's too many of them!" Red called, slashing with his own claws. "We have to find some shelter."

"Don't lose the trail!" Cloud shouted.

But that was easier said than done. They were in the middle of the cavern. There was no place to hide nearby, no obvious place where the man they were tracking could have come from. It was impossible for either Red of Nipala to try to follow the scent and defend themselves at the same time

"We can't follow it," Red shouted.

To make matters worse, a lumbering wolflike beast, perhaps attracted by the commotion, suddenly appeared out of the darkness and lunged at Cait. After getting a mouthful of fur, Cait slammed it on the head, knocking it to the ground, but two more appeared at almost the same instant.

Cloud stepped forward and slashed at them with his sword, causing a momentary retreat. But even as he did so, another of the flying beasts slammed into his back, nearly knocking him over. With a curse he turned and lashed out at the shadows above him. After all this time in the caves undisturbed, he had been beginning to think they wouldn't have too much trouble in that regard, but now it seemed like all hell was breaking loose.

"Just keep moving," he shouted, realizing trying to follow the trail now was futile. "We can pick up the trail again later."

They hacked their way across the chamber. More monsters seemed to be joining the attack with each passing moment. Dozens of them could be seen now, flitting in and out of the shadows, lunging to attack whenever the opportunity presented itself. After having been quiet so long, Cloud couldn't understand where they had all come from all of a sudden. It almost seemed like they had been lying in wait, to ambush them at just the right moment.

And yet, he knew that couldn't be the case. This was no an organized attack. It there had been, there was more then enough of the creatures to overwhelm them. The only reason they were still standing at all in face of these superior numbers was the fact that the creature's attacks were uncoordinated, attacking at random.

"I think I see something over that way!" Nipala called out.

Cloud swung the light in the direction she was looking. He could see the far wall now, and a dark opening at the base of it.

"This way, hurry!" Cloud called to the others.

Cloud ran for the entrance, slashing viciously at anything that got in his way. None of the beast could stand before that onslaught, and they gave way. Cloud raced into the tunnel, but he didn't expect the ground to slope steeply downward inside. He overbalanced, and found himself sliding down the slope uncontrollably, all his efforts spent on just trying to stay on is feet. Eventually even that failed him, for the ground itself seemed to be moving beneath him. He fell down, rolling and tumbling down the slope, not even trying to stop himself, just trying to protect his head. The flashlight was no longer in his hand, though he could not be sure exactly when they had parted ways. He slid down the slope in the darkness, completely out of control, not sure how far he had fallen, or how much farther he had to go. He just hoped that the slope didn't end with him plummeting off a cliff.

Or rather them. He couldn't see anything, but he could hear the others tumbling down the slope as well. At least if he went off a cliff, he wouldn't be alone.

Small comfort.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours, the ground leveled off a bit and his hands found purchase on solid ground instead of dirt that pulled away at his touch. He ground to a halt. For a moment he just lay there, then slowly lifted himself to his knees, looking around. He could see nothing. His head throbbed. He put his hand to it and it felt wet. His entire body ached, in fact, but he could function.

"Everyone else here?" he called out.

"Most of me is," he heard Cid groan.

"I am only slightly damaged," Red stated.

"I'm all right," Nipala announced.

"Wow, what a trip," Cait stated.

Silence.

"Reeve?" Cloud said, looking around foolishly. "Where's Reeve?"

No one answered.

"Shit," Cid muttered.

"Reeve!" Cloud shouted.

No response.

"Feel around," Cloud said. "Maybe he's here but unconscious."

"Where's the damn flashlight?' Cid questioned.

"I don't know," Cloud replied. "I dropped it. Try to find that too."

He started to move slowly along the ground, feeling with his hands in front of him. A moment later a spark of light appeared in the darkness. Cid looked at them above the match he has stuck.

He held it up, looking around. It cast very little light, but compared to the pitch-blackness of a moment before, it was like a beacon.

"I don't see him or the flashlight," Red said.

"Damn," Cloud muttered. He peered up the slope. He could barely see more than a few feet. He climbed up a little, but soon found the going impossible. It was almost vertical. They couldn't climb back up without any equipment, and with no light to see any handholds above.

"Reeve!' he shouted again.

The match went out, and they were plunged into darkness. Cid stuck another match.

"I don't have too many more," he stated. "Too bad I didn't bring my lighter."

"We need to find something to burn," Nipala said.

"Or that flashlight," Cid added.

Cloud looked around, angry and frustrated, and more than a little worried about Reeve. It seemed he had somehow avoided falling down the slope, but where was he? If he as still up top, were those monsters still chasing him. None of them would stand a chance against that many by themselves.

"I think I've found the flashlight," Cait suddenly said.

"Good," Cloud stated.

"Not really," Cait replied. "Take a look."

Cloud walked over to where Cait stood. The Mog pointed to a narrow crevice in the floor, a faint light emanating from it. He looked down to see the flashlight wedged deep in the crevice, far beyond their reach.

"You gotta be kidding," he muttered.

The others came over.

Cloud tried to wedge himself down in the crevice, but soon gave up. He stood up again.

"Anyone else want to give it a try?" he questioned, a pessimistic look on his face.

Cid looked down and shook his head.

"None of us are that skinny," he stated.

"Great," Cloud muttered.

"Maybe we can reach down there with something and grab it," Cait suggested.

"Yeah, but what?" Nipala said.

"I can probably reach it with my spear," Cid said slowly.

"Yeah, but you can't grab it with that," Cait stated.

"I know," Cid said slowly. "But maybe I can tease it up here."

He leaned forward and reached down with the spear. Stretching out as far as he could, he could just touch the flashlight. Working very slowly, he hesitantly tried to get the spear underneath.

"I'm afraid I'm going to knock it down farther," he muttered.

Cloud stood beside them, his face a mask of frustration. He couldn't believe this was happening. After all they had been through to get here, after all the obstacles they had overcome, to be stymied by something like this. The stupid flashlight falling in a crack. They didn't know where Reeve was. For all they knew, he could be being torn apart by those creatures even now. They couldn't get back up to him without a light. They couldn't go _anywhere_ without a light. They were stuck here, all because he couldn't hold onto the damn thing!

He looked over at the others, but Cid didn't seem to be making any progress. They could spend hours trying to retrieve that light, and they didn't have the time.

"Forget the damn flashlight," he blurted out. "We still have your matches. We can light something on fire."

"But what?" Nipala questioned.

"I don't know. Anything," Cloud replied. "Here, you can use my shirt."

He started to peel it off.

Cid stood up and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"We can try it," he agreed. "Though it would be better if we had some kind of fuel. I don't know how well that material will burn."

"We've still got our materia," Cait reminded them. "We could cast fire spells, or lightning."

"We don't want too big a fire," Nipala cautioned. "We don't know what kind of ventilation there is down here. We don't want to die of smoke inhalation."

"I don't care what we do, but we have to do _something_!" Cloud exclaimed.

"Look at this," Red suddenly called.

They turned to see him standing by the wall a few feet away. They could barely make him out in the darkness.

"What is it?" Cloud said, more angrily than he had planned.

Red just nodded them over.

They all walked over to him, except for Cid, who returned to trying to retrieve the flashlight. Red stood by the wall of the cavern. When the reached him they saw he was standing by a narrow fissure in the wall. Longer than it was tall, it was only a few feet in height.

"Take a look in there," he said, indicated the crevice.

Cloud bent down and peered inside. Immediately he caught the faint glimmer of light. He turned to Red.

"Is that a light?" he questioned.

"It certainly looks like one," Red replied.

Cloud examined the crevice more closely. It looked large enough to squeeze through, but he couldn't be sure in the dark.

"Cid," he called out. "Come take a look at this."

With a grunt Cid stood up again and came over to them.

"We need some light," Cloud said.

Cid stuck another match and bent down beside him. The crevice was narrow, and the rock around it looked wickedly sharp, but he though they could fit.

"I'm going to take a look," he announced.

He crawled into the crevice. There was enough room, but just barely. It certainly wasn't a place he'd recommend to claustrophobics.

There was a turn ahead of him, and the light grew brighter as he approached. The turn was somewhat difficult, but he managed it. The light was much brighter now. Just a few feet in front of him, the tunnel ended. There was a pool of water on the ground. And above the water, he could clearly make out light shining through the holes in a round grate.

He pulled himself forward, until he was directly under it. Looking up, he could make out a narrow hallway illuminated by ceiling lights. He pulled himself up to his knees, until he was just inches from the grate. He listened, but heard nothing. Finally he reached up and tried to turn the grate. It didn't move at first, but then, with a sudden rasping sound, it began to turn. Once he got it going, it moved rather easily. A moment later he lifted it aside and stood up.

The corridor ran in both directions for a short distance before turning a corner. He could see no one.

He crouched back down and called the others.

He pulled himself up and stood on the floor, sword ready while he waited for the others. Finally he was sure he had found what he was looking for. It wasn't a natural source. It wasn't some accident. He had been right all along. He was sure now. Vanguard was running a mako reactor. He wasn't sure exactly why they were doing it, but one thing was sure. They were going to put a stop to it.

The others arrived a few minutes later. They all somehow managed to squeeze through, though Cait had barely made it. All their eyes widened as the stepped up into the corridor.

"It appears your underground theory has been born out," Red said slowly. "We don't know for sure this is a reactor, but I have little doubt."

"Looks like you were right Cloud," Cid agreed. "About everything."

Cloud nodded but did not reply. Whether he had been right wasn't as important now as what they were going to do next.

"Look around," he said. "We've got to go back to get Reeve, but we need light. Look for something we can use. Anything."

There were doors on both sides of the corridor. Two to the left and three to the right. Cloud walked up to one, hesitated a moment, then opened it. He poked his head in the door and looked around a moment, the turned to the others.

"Just has some sort of machinery in it," he said.

He took a few steps to the next door. He opened it and saw it was a small utility closet.

"This looks more promising," he muttered.

Cid came up beside him and they rummaged through the contents. There were no flashlights, but they found some flammable cleaning fluid and a mop that looked like it would make a perfect torch.

"All right, this should do," Cloud said. "Let's go back and get Reeve, then we can come back here and kick some butt."

They started to turn to return to the grate, but stopped suddenly when they heard a cold voice.

"Hold it right there!"


	12. Unleashing the Monster

CHAPTER XII

ULEASHING THE MONSTER

His head hurt.

Reeve stared into the darkness. He was lying on his back. He could tell that, even though he couldn't see. He had been falling down the slope. He remembered that. He had heard the others falling too. At least, at first. He had hit something. Struck his head. That was the last thing he remembered.

He lifted up his head. It swam for moment, and he almost blacked out again. But then the pain diminished.

"Cloud?"

Silence.

"Red? Cid?"

No response.

Tentatively; "Anyone?"

Nothing.

"Hey, can anyone hear me?" he shouted.

He waited, listening for any sound. But all he heard were the echoes of his own voice.

"Shit," he muttered.

He slowly pulled himself to his feet. His hand came up to the back of his head. It felt wet, and it was painful to the touch, but if he moved slowly it didn't hurt too much. He looked around slowly, but all he could see was pitch black.

"Cloud, Red, anyone?" he shouted once more.

Again, no reply except his echoes.

He moved forward slowly, his hands in front of him, but he met nothing at all. After a few steps he stopped. He couldn't see anything. He didn't know how far he was from the wall. But then again, he also didn't know if a bottomless pit was right in front of him either.

They had all fallen down the same slope. He had heard them. How did they get separated? How long had he been unconscious? Had the others left, not being able to find him? That didn't seem likely. They had the flashlight. They would have been able to look around. Unless the flashlight was broken in the fall.

Or had he somehow gotten separated from them. Had he fallen down a different slope, or somehow ended up on a different path. That seemed more likely, but if that was so, what was he to do now? He couldn't wander around in the pitch dark. And besides, if the others were looking for him, wouldn't it be better to stay put, to stay near the place where he had fallen down, then to wander away even farther?

On the other hand, the others might not be able to find him. In which case he would have to find his way out on his own. But how could he do that?

He had fallen down a slope. Which meant he had to go up to get back. The slope he had fallen down had to be right nearby. If he found it, perhaps he could make his way back up.

He picked a direction at random and started forward once more, walking slowly, testing every step before putting weight on his foot, afraid of coming suddenly upon a crevice. He counted the steps he took, and stopped at twenty, thinking he couldn't have rolled much father than that. He retracted his steps and then started out again in another direction. Or at least, he thought it was. It was difficult to even keep track of which direction he was going in the darkness. He only walked a few paces this time, however, when his hand made contact with the wall.

He turned around again. This was going to take forever, and might not get him anywhere, but he supposed it was better than just sitting there waiting. Still, he would give anything to have some light.

But wait. Maybe he did have some. He knew he didn't have any matches, but what about his materia? He reached into his pocket, but suddenly stopped.

In front of him he saw a faint light.

More than one, in fact. They were very faint. Small reddish colored light. In pairs, moving slowly. A shock ran through him as he realized they were eyes.

He found himself taking a step backwards. He started to withdraw his hand from his pocket, thinking to pull out his shotgun, but he stopped. They were all around him, dozens of them. He couldn't possibly get them all with his gun. Instead his hand gripped a materia tightly, ready to pull it out.

But he didn't. There were too many of them, and even if he used the materia he was pretty sure he couldn't get them all. But the eyes were approaching slowly, warily. As if they were as unsure of him as he was of them. If they weren't going to attack, he didn't want to provoke them.

They were close now. He could see the eyes clearly, their reddish tint making them appear oddly bloodshot.

"Don't come any closer," he said

To his surprise, the eyes halted. Had the sound of his voice given them pause? Had they ever heard a human before?

For a moment noting happened.

"An outsider."

Reeve nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of those words.

The voice had sounded distorted, like it was spoken underwater. It certainly wasn't a human voice.

"Who..who are you?" Reeve stammered.

"An outsider," the voice hissed again. "Kill him."

Reeve took another stop back, pulling out his materia.

"I don't mean you any harm," he said.

The eyes started to advance, but then another voice spoke up.

"Wait."

The creatures halted their advance once more.

"Wait? Why wait, Zaffri? Kill him. He's one of them."

"We don't know that, Cheruchi" Zaffri replied.

"Why else would he be down here?"

"I don't know," Zaffri replied. "Are you one of them?"

The last question had obviously been directed at Reeve. He was tempted to immediately say 'no'. He didn't know who 'they' were, but he had a pretty good idea.

"Who do you mean by them?" he asked. "The people who built the reactor?"

"See, he is one of them!" Cheruchi said, his voice a harsh accusation.

"Don't be foolish. Just because he has heard of them doesn't mean he is one of them."

"They're all alike!" Cheruchi insisted.

"Just like we're all alike?" Zaffri countered.

"Then what is he doing down here?"

"Maybe we should let him explain." Zaffri was closest too him, standing right in front of him, in fact. The creature looked right at Reeve.

"We were searching for the reactor," Reeve said. "We thought it might be here. I'm not one of them. In fact, my friends and I are here to stop them. What they are doing is illegal. We know that mako reactors are harmful to the environment, and no one is allowed to build them anymore."

"He lies," Cheruchi said immediately. "He is alone."

"Where are your friends?" Zaffri asked.

"I don't know," Reeve replied. "I fell down a slope. They were with me but we got separated somehow. I hit my head and was knocked out. I don't know whether they were here and wandered off, or if they somehow landed somewhere else."

"He fell down the chute," Cheruchi stated. "Stupid human. Why don't you watch where you are going."

"It's hard to see in the dark," Reeve defended himself. "Do you know where my friends are?"

"There were others. They went into the reactor. I told you he was with them! I told you he was one of them!" Cheruchi stated.

"They went in there to stop the reactor!" Reeve said, relieved to know at least that his friends were still in the game.

"Lies!"

"Stop it Cheruchi," Zaffri admonished.

"Don't tell me you believe him!" Cheruchi exclaimed.

"He's says he's here to stop them!' Zaffri said. "You've seen what they've done here. You've seen what they've done to our home, our people. You know we can't stop them ourselves. Everyone who has openly opposed them has died. Maybe this is our chance to fight back."

"And maybe this is a trick to try to wipe out the last of us!" Cheruchi snapped.

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Zaffri relied. "But I'm willing to take the chance. We can't stop them ourselves. We need help. This might be our only chance to save ourselves."

"Or to wipe us out completely," Cheruchi said sourly.

"The way things are going, that's going to be our fate anyway."

He looked at Reeve again.

"How did you plan on stopping them?"

"Umm, well, I'm not exactly sure," Reeve replied reluctantly.

"See, he can't even say," Cheruchi said immediately. "He is lying."

"We don't know because we haven't seen the reactor yet," Reeve defended himself. "We weren't sure it was here. We had to find it first, then we were going to come up with a plan."

"Stupid human," Cheruchi said again.

"That's enough," Zaffri said, though his voice held no hint of anger. "What do you need us to do?"

Reeve paused for a moment.

"I need to find my friends."

"Very well," Zaffri replied. "We can't go back up the slope. It's too steep. But there is away around. Come with us."

"If you betray us, we'll kill you," Reeve heard behind him as he started after Zaffri.

Reeve did not reply, but he kept his materia in his hand. He only took a few steps before he stopped, however. With Zaffri turned away from him, he couldn't see the creatures eyes. He couldn't follow.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But I can't see where I'm going. Is it possible to make some sort of light?"

From the hissing sounds around him, Reeve immediately realized he had said the wrong thing.

"No, no light," Zaffri said emphatically. "We do not use it. We do not need it. It hurts us."

"I'm sorry," Reeve replied. "I didn't know."

The hissing sounds around them slowly died away.

"But I had forgotten you human's don't have the ability to see in the dark. Come, place you hand on my shoulder, and I'll lead you."

He reached out his hand, groping toward the sound of Zaffri's voice. And when he made contact he almost recoiled. The skin was soft, rubbery, and felt like it was covered with some kind of slime.

Somehow Reeve managed to not pull his hand back.

They proceeded through the dark. The only thing Reeve could see was the flickering of the eyes of some of the others around him.

"Umm...what are you?" he said after a while.

"What do you mean?" Zaffri replied.

"What you do call yourselves," Reeve rephrased. "I've never heard of beings like you. I didn't know you existed."

"We call ourselves the Telenor," Zaffri said. "It's not surprising you've never heard of us. Not many humans have ever come across us. We abhor the light, and your people don't like the dark. There were never many of us, and we've avoided contact if at all possible. We've been perfectly happy living in peace in our caves."

"Until your people built the reactor," the unmistakable voice of Cheruchi floated to him.

"They've been killing you?" Reeve questioned.

"Yes, like an animal, when they come across us," Zaffri replied. "But that has been rare. We are very good at concealing ourselves. That is not the main problem. They've poisoned the water our village uses. All the fish are gone. Many have starved."

"Poisoned the water?" Reeve repeated.

"Yes, you'll see. We'll pass it on the way to our destination."

Reeve had no idea how long they continued walking in the dark. Even with Zaffri leading him, he couldn't go very fast. The minutes seemed to drag by with excruciating slowness. Eventually, however, he looked ahead and saw a faint light. They continued toward it for a few moments, until he began to be able to make out the faint outline of the creatures around him. They seemed roughly humanoid in shape, though much shorter than an average human. He could also make out the sound of running water ahead.

Zaffri stopped in front of a dark tunnel leading off in another direction. He pointed toward the light.

"That's where the humans are poisoning the water," he said. "It's too light. We don't dare go any closer. We must go this way now." He indicated the turn off.

"Wait," Reeve said. "I want to go take a look."

"Don't trust him," Cheruchi said. "He's going to warn the others!"

Zaffri turned toward at Reeve, who could just make out the round face looking at him.

"Perhaps," he said. "How are you called, human?"

Reeve was surprised by the question.

"My name is Reeve," he replied.

"Very well, Reeve. Do you give me your word that you will not betray us?"

"You will take the word of a human?" Cheruchi said, sounding shocked.

"I don't believe all humans are as bad as those here," Zaffri replied.

"Then you are a fool," Cheruchi said in disgust.

"I won't betray you," Reeve said emphatically.

Cheruchi just snorted in disgust.

"Very well," Zaffri said. "I will wait for you here."

"All right," Reeve replied. "Thanks."

He looked around for a moment, but Cheruchi seemed to have nothing else to say. Reeve turned and walked rapidly down the tunnel toward the light.

The sound of running water swelled as he walked, and the light grew. The narrow tunnel ran into a much larger one. A river ran through the center of this tunnel. On the opposite shore stood a metal door, with a bright industrial light hanging above it.

Reeve walked slowly across the tunnel until he stood at the edge of the river. Looking down he could see two huge pipes below the waterline. He knew enough about mako reactors to know these pipes were probably being used to take river water into the reactor to cool it. But as far as he knew, that was all they were used for. A coolant. That alone wouldn't poison the water.

Or would it?

He reached down and touched the water. It was cold to the touch.

He stood up and walked downstream a bit, past the output pipe and touched the water again. It was noticeably warmer.

The fish that lived in this water had probably been undisturbed for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years. The cold water running below the mountains had probably been a constant temperature that whole time. A temperature the fish had grown acclimated to.

But now the reactor was warming the water. All of a sudden a drastic change had been introduced. Was it any wonder the fish might not be able to adjust? The temperature change alone might have killed them all or forced them to move to an area of lower temperature. An area far from where the Telenor fished.

He looked around slowly, studying the river. Part of the tunnel had been expanded, gouged out to fit the pipes in, he supposed. The wall above the intake pipe was vertical, held back by thick wooden planks. Reeve thought for a moment. Those planks had been put in to support the wall. If they were forcibly removed, the wall might collapse.

He considered it for a moment more. Then turned and walked back the way he had come.

Zaffri and the others were waiting.

"I have a plan," Reeve said.

The others just looked at him.

"They're using the river water to cool the reactor," he explained. "That has heated the water, which is probably what has caused the fish to leave. But the wall above the intake pipe looks weak. If I can cause it to collapse, we may be able to cut off the pipe. Without water to cool the reactor, they've have to shut it down. And in all the excitement from that happening, I may be able to get inside and find my friends."

They all stood there looking at him silently. Reeve wasn't sure whether they didn't understand or they didn't believe him.

"You can do that?" Zaffri said finally.

"I can try," Reeve replied. "I can use my materia on the planks holding the wall up. If I can weaken them, they might collapse. It's worth a try!"

Again the Telenor were silent. Reeve was grateful that at least just this once, Cheruchi seemed to have nothing to say.

"Do you need us to help you?" Zaffri asked finally.

"No," Reeve replied. "But you may want to get back. What I'm going to do is going to give off a lot of light."

The Telenor hissed at him again. But Zaffri seemed to understand.

"Very well," he said. "We are willing to let you try."

"All right, I'll be right back," Reeve said.

He turned and hurried back down the tunnel. A few moments later he stood in front of the river again. He reached into his pocket and took out a materia orb. He looked at the wall again, and the ceiling above it. He just hoped this wasn't going to bring the whole place down on top of him.

But there was no sense in worrying about that now.

He took a deep breath and concentrated.

The materia suddenly flared with green light, and a moment later a flash of lightning blasted into the planks on the far wall. There was an enormous crack. Reeve took a step back, ready to run.

But nothing happened. He stood there for a moment, looking at the planks. They were singed, and he could see a long crack running along the bottom one, but they remained intact.

He sighed and concentrated again.

The green light flared again, and a second bolt struck the wood. This was too much for them to bear, and with an explosive snap they broke asunder. Reeve really did take a step back now, as a wall of rock suddenly plunged downward from the roof.

Reeve ducked, fearing the worst, as a wall of dust and water washed over him. For a moment he thought sure he was going to be buried alive. But then the sound of crashing rocks stilled. He found himself standing, coughing in the dust filled air, but still alive.

It took a few moments for the dust to settle, but eventually he could make out the river again, and saw with satisfaction that the intake pipe had been completely buried by the avalanche.

Turning he ran back down the tunnel, going so fast he almost ran right into Zaffri before he saw him.

"That should give them something to think about!" he exclaimed. "No let's get to the entrance so I can find my friends!"

* * *

"Greetings Madam President. It's an honor to see you again."

"What's the situation Captain?"

"We've captured five infiltrators," the Captain replied immediately. He could tell by the serious look on Miss. Gram's face that she wasn't interested in formality or small talk. "All of them members of Avalanche. Cid Highwind, Nanaki, Nipala, Cait Sith and Cloud Strife."

The President pondered this for a moment, then a thin smile appeared on her face.

"Cloud Strife eh?' she said slowly. "Very good. How did they find us?"

"They came in through the caves under the reactor," he replied. "Through one of the drains."

"And I thought you told me no one could get in that way," she said sharply. "Isn't that why we were releasing the monsters into the caves, to prevent that."

The Captain went slightly gray.

"Yes ma'am," he stammered. "I don't know how they got past all the monsters. They must have been lucky,"

"I don't believe in luck!" the President growled.

"Yes ma'am!" the Captain said, snapping to attention and staring straight ahead.

"Did you search the caves to see if anyone else was with them?" she demanded.

The Captain hesitated.

"Ma'am, those caves are filled with monsters. Sending men in there would be extremely dangerous. If anyone else was with them..."

She took a step forward and looked right in the man's face.

"They got through, didn't they?" she questioned. "And if they're here, there might be more. Avalanche has a tendency to stick together. Don't underestimate them."

"Yes ma'am!" he exclaimed.

"Good, now I want you to _personally_ see that those caverns are thoroughly searched for any sign of any other members of Avalanche. Am I making myself understood?"

"Umm, err," he hesitated for a moment, his face turning paler still. "Personally?"

"Yes, personally," she replied. "You have a problem with that?"

"Yes, ma'am. I mean, no ma'am. I'll get right on it, ma'am!"

"Good," she replied. "Now I need to see Calin. Where is he?"

"He's, umm, down in the research lab," the man replied.

The President nodded.

"Fine," she said.

The man turned to go.

"And one more thing," she said suddenly.

He stopped and looked back at her.

"Get in touch with Mr. Van Cleff in Gongaga," she said. "I was hoping to keep Reno of the Turks as bait or possibly a bargaining chip. But now that we've got Cloud Strife I no longer think that will be necessary. Reno is expendable. Tell Mr. Van Cleff to dispose of him however he sees fit."

The Captain nodded.

"Yes ma'am."

She turned and walked swiftly away without another word. She walked out of the room and down the hallway, slipping into an elevator at the end. As she rode downward her foot tapped impatiently on the floor. When the elevator stopped she pushed through the doors almost before they opened. She walked rapidly down the hall, ignoring the greetings from the people she passed. Finally reaching her destination, she turned and walked into the research lab.

She stopped and looked around for a moment before she spotted the man she was looking for.

"Calin!" she called out.

One of the lab coated researchers turned around at her call. He stood there waiting while she walked up to him.

"Madam President," he said, "What a surprise."

"Well, it's not a social visit," she replied without preamble. "Avalanche has infiltrated the reactor. They've found the place. We captured the ones that came in, but I'm not certain we got all of them. Even if we did, the others can't be far behind. It's just a matter of time before they show up here in force. We have to complete the experiment now."

"Now?" Calin questioned. "But...we're not ready."

"You told me you've already had two animals that survived the process," she stated.

"Yes, animals," Calin replied. "Not humans. Just because an animal survives doesn't mean a human will. They're not the same, you know. We've got a lot more experimenting to do before I would even think of..."

"Are you listening to me?" the President said sharply. "We don't have time! The other members of Avalanche can't be far behind the one's that are already here, and I don't have any illusions that the precious security force here will be able to hold them off. We've got to finish the project before that happens or we won't even get a chance to make the attempt."

"But it's just too dangerous," Calin protested.

"We already know two people have survived this," she pointed out.

"Yes," he replied. "One was protected by her mother's womb, and the dose given to Tifa Lockheart was miniscule compared to what we are talking about here. If we miscalculate it will kill you."

"You have all of Dr. Hojo's notes on the project," she said, unconvinced. "You have all your research from studying Amanda Nathan. You've had all these months to work on this, and you're telling me you've gotten nowhere?"

Calin shook his head.

"It's not that simple," he replied. "Of course we've gotten somewhere. We've made tremendous progress, but we still have a long way to go. I can't in good conscious attempt this yet on a human being."

"And I say you will!" she said. "I told you, we don't have time. It's now or never. This is my one shot. I won't have it ruined without even making an attempt. I don't care if it may kill me. It's worth the risk. The only way to get my revenge it to do this, and if I can't have my revenge, then I might as well be dead anyway!"

Calin looked down at the floor.

"Is your revenge really worth that?" he questioned.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "They played me for a fool. They murdered my father. I swore I would get revenge for him, not matter what it took, no matter what the sacrifice. His blood is on their hands, and I'm going to make them pay no matter what it takes. Now quite wasting time and let's get started!"

Calin stood there looking at her for a moment. Well, he had made his attempt at being reasonable. He really hadn't expected to convince her. It was her funeral.

"Very well," he said. "Come with me."

He led her across the lab. Opening a door they entered a small room. It was windowless, the walls, floors and ceiling painted flat white, giving it an antiseptic look. In the center of the room stood a large pod half reclining on a pedestal.

"I'm afraid this is not going to be very comfortable," Calin said as he stepped up next to the pod. "It was, after all, designed to hold animals."

If he thought the look of the pod would give the President second thoughts, he was mistaken. She stepped up to immediately and settled down into it.

Calin looked at her for a moment, then reached over for the cover.

"You may feel some discomfort," he warned. "We don't really know how painful the process is."

"Just get it over with," she said bluntly.

Calin nodded and pulled the lid down. Now the only part of her he could see was her face through the window of the pod. She was just glaring at him. He turned and walked out of the room, over to a nearby counter full of machinery. He flipped the switch on the PA system.

"Prepare to initiate full mako infusion. The subject is President Gram. This is not a test." There was a hub bub of voices and the technicians that were nearby looked at him in surprise, but the serious look on his face dispelled any questions they might have had.

Calin settled down in a seat, looking at the monitors in front of him as the technicians began to bring the machines around them to life. Any doubts he may have harbored about going ahead was forgotten in the thrill of actually seeing his project finally coming to life in front of him. It didn't really matter to him anyway if she survived or not. His apparent concern for her life had merely been window dressing. A way to deflect the blame in case she didn't survive. A way to hedge on his own survival.

A hum slowly started to fill the room. The sound of the mako reactor coming up to full power. Calin leaned forward and studied his instruments carefully. If he was right, the problem had been one of dosage and time. Dr. Hojo had infused mako into Rebecca Nathan slowly. Too slowly as it turned out. He couldn't really be blamed, that was the way it was done with the men in SOLDIER. Since even small does of mako had made even the men ill, Hojo has assumed that larger does would kill them. A man couldn't take a large enough dose to achieve the result they were looking for here. But female physiology was different. Calin had calculated that a female body could withstand the dosage necessary to achieve success, if just barely. Rebecca Nathan had been infused too slowly and with too small a dose. Since Amanda had been only a fetus at the time, with a body weight of only a few grams, the dose she had received was proportionally larger, large enough to obtain the desired result. She had survived because her mother's body had absorbed most of the poison.

That was the hard part. President Gram had no one to shield her. No womb to act as protective cover. The mako infusion had to be just the right dosage, and had to be infused all at once. That was the only way it could work. With this dosage too much would kill her outright. Too little would kill her more slowly, but just as surely. It was a one shot deal.

"Reactor at maximum power," he heard one of the technicians announce.

"Vital signs normal," another one said.

"All system parameters in acceptable ranges."

Calin reached out and put his hand on a lever.

"Infusion starting...now!"

He pushed the lever forward.

The power levels on the pod jumped to life in front of Calin, shooting up the scale.

"Flow rate at 1200 milliliters!"

"Maintain infusion rate between 1000 and 1500," he called out.

"Yes sir."

"Heart rate increasing."

Calin's eyes flew across the gauges in front of him, some of them starting to creep up into the red.

"Flow rate at 1400 milliliters."

"Maintain there!" he called.

"Heart rate continuing to increase. Blood pressure 160 over 90."

"Brain wave activity erratic."

"We've reached the one minute mark."

Calin felt his hands tingling with excitement. Might this actually work? He had worked so hard, studied so long. All those years with Amanda, could they finally be paying off?

"Flow rate at 1450 milliliters."

"Decrease to 1300," Calin said.

"Heart rate increasing dangerously! Blood pressure 210 over 100."

Calin looked nervously at the gauges. The infusion was taking it's toll. She was getting close to her limit, but they had no choice now but to see this thing out.

"One minute thirty seconds."

He took his eyes off the gauges for a moment to look at the pod. He could see the Presidents face through the window, but he couldn't make out her features. The only thing he could see was that her head was shaking furiously.

Just a little bit longer.

"Flow rate at 1500 milliliters."

"I told you to drop it to 1300!" he snapped.

"We're trying. It's not responding very well."

"Damn," he muttered. He knew if it went up much higher than that, she didn't stand a chance.

"Just a little longer!" he exclaimed, to no one in particular.

"Blood pressure 220 over 110. Heartbeat erratic. We're losing her!"

Calin stood up, his hand on the lever, staring at the clock in the center of his console.

"Flow rate at 1550 milliliters."

"All life signs critical!"

"Should we abort?"

"Too late for that!" Calin shouted. "Just a few more seconds."

"EKG flatlined!"

"What the hell? All life signs negative. Did we lose power?"

Calin was barely listening now. There was nothing they could do now but see it to the end. At this point anything else would kill her, if it hadn't already. He felt his hand tighten on the lever as the seconds slowly ticked down to zero.

He pulled the lever back.

"Infusing complete," he called out. "Initiate immediate shut down!"

As the hum of machinery slowly died around him, Calin looked at the pod. The President's eyes were closed, and she wasn't moving.

"Get her out of there!"

Two technicians scrambled to obey. But as they reached the pod they stopped suddenly.

"What is it? What are you waiting for?" Calin questioned.

One of the men turned toward him.

"Her eyes." he began.

There was a flash of light and a crack of thunder and the door tore off the pod, spinning through the air and slamming into the two technicians.

President Gram lifted herself out of the pod. She looked around for a moment, a wild contorted look on her face. Her eyes glowed bright emerald green. She raised her hand, and fire burst forth along the wall right beside Calin. He stumbled backwards, away from the machinery.

She stepped out of the pod room. Her hand came up again. Lightning struck the machinery nearby, sending up a shower of sparks and the technicians beside it flying across the floor.

"What are you doing?" Calin screamed.

The woman laughed. A harsh screeching cry, devoid of humor and all sanity.

"We've done it," she screamed. "Now the power that Hojo tried unsuccessfully to harness is in my hands, in my very soul! Nothing can stop me now, no one can stand against me. Now I can make them pay. I can make them all pay!"

Her hand shot forward again and another burst of lightning seared through the machinery. Calin heard screams and smelled burnt flesh.

"Stop it!" he shouted. "You're killing them!"

"Yes I am," she agreed, her raucous laughter filling the room. "And no one can stop me! I have the power now. This reactor gave it to me. But now it has fulfilled it's purpose. If left standing it could be used to repeat the process on someone else. I'm not going to let that happen. This reactor is now obsolete."

For the first time she looked right at him. He cringed away from the madness in her eyes.

"And so are you!"

She thrust her hand forward. Calin dived behind the counter just as fire raked the air where he had stood a second before. He felt burning heat on his legs and scrambled farther behind the counter.

"Run!" he screamed. "All of you, get out of here!"

"That's right, try to save yourselves!" he heard her yell. "Scurry away like the ants you are. But it not going to help you. Pitiful creatures that you are, now feel the wraith of a god!"

Calin couldn't see her from where he was hiding, but he could see the green mist that suddenly filled the air.

Then he was thrown backward as the entire room exploded in a blast from Ultima. Counter and all he was flung against the far wall. Falling to the floor like a rag doll, barely conscious, feeling like very bone in his body had been broken, Calin looked up to see a huge piece of machinery tipping down on top of him, before everything went suddenly black.


	13. The Great Escape

CHAPTER XIII

THE GREAT ESCAPE

_Where was it? _

_Reno stared into the darkness around him. He couldn't see anything. No walls, no ceiling, no light at all. It was pitch dark. He couldn't even see the floor beneath his feet. Yet he was running. He didn't know where he had come from, or where he was going. He was looking for something, but he had no idea what. He was searching, frantically. He had to find it, and he had to find it soon. _

_He ran on, getting more desperate by the moment. Not caring where he was going. But there was nothing. No matter which direction he went, all he saw was blackness. He knew he was running out of time. If he didn't find her soon, it would be too late. _

_Her? Who was it he was looking for? He thought he knew, or should know, but for some reason the answer eluded him. He wasn't sure who he was looking for, or why. The only thing he knew was that if he didn't find her soon, something horrible would happen. _

_But he couldn't find her. She wasn't here. He looked around desperately, but there was nothing in sight. He didn't know where to go, which way to turn. Already it might be too late. Already she might be dead. _

_A sound. From far off. He could barely here it. It was her. She was calling him. _

_He spun around, searching for the direction the voice was coming from, but he couldn't tell. It was far off. He could barely hear it. She was calling him. She was screaming his name. She needed help. She needed him. Where was she? _

_"Rory!" he yelled. _

_He was in a room. It was dimly lit by a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. The walls of the room had been covered with a floral print wallpaper, but it was so faded as to be barely legable. There was a long tear in it running from the ceiling halfway down to the floor near one corner of the room. There was a dresser, it's natural wood finish faded and scratched, and a bed covered with mismatched blankets. The blankets lay on the bed in dissary, some of them strewn on the floor. The nearby window was broken, letting a slight breeze that brought with it the fetid odor of the narrow alley outside. _

_His sister's room. _

_"Rory!" he called out again. _

_He looked around, searching desperately for her, but she wasn't there. He could still hear her calling him, her small voice more desperate than ever. She was screaming for help. She was in pain. The sound tore a hole in his heart. But she wasn't here. He couldn't help her. _

_Shards of glass lay strewn across the floor from the broken window. A thin line of red ran down the wall from the windowsill. _

_He ran to the window. He could see the trash filled alley outside, but there was nothing else there. There was no sign of his sister. _

_She screamed. _

_He was outside. Somewhere in the streets of Midgar. He was running once again. And although he could see where he was going now, he still didn't have any clue where Rory was. He had to find her. All they had was each other. He would look out for her. He had promised. _

_A light above him caught his attention. He looked up. The moon had risen from behind one of the dark buildings. A young man stood on the roof, outlined in the light. Although he was too far away to recognize Reno knew it was one of the members of his gang. The boy pointed to the left. _

_Reno turned. A building stood on a hill, even though there were no hills in Midgar. Yet somehow Reno knew that was where his sister was. _

_The hospital. _

_He stood in front of a bed. A small figure lay in front of him. Her bruised and battered countenance barely visible beneath the bandages and the tubes that ran from her body. Behind him he could here the slow beeping of a heart monitor. _

_"You don't have any insurance?" _

_A voice. The sound of the nurse. A voice as cold as ice. _

_Reno shook his head dumbly. _

_"Life support costs 1500 gil a day. How are you going to pay for it?" _

_Reno stood there, looking down at his little sister. She was only twelve years old. She was just a kid. How could this happen to her? _

_"I don't know," he heard himself saying. _

_"Do you have any gil?" _

_"No." _

_The voice was like a knife stabbing through him. _

_"There aren't any charity hospitals in Midgar. We can't provide care unless you can pay for it. If you can't pay, we'll have to shut off the respirator." _

_Reno felt as if he were going to throw up. They had to keep the life support on. She'd die without it. They couldn't just let her die, could they? She was just a kid! _

_"Please you've got to help her. You can't let her die." _

_"You have to pay. There's no charity in Midgar. If you can't pay, there's nothing we can do. We can't run the respirator on nothing." _

_The voices were all around him now, raining down on him, forcing him to his knees like blows. _

_And far away, almost drowned out, the shrill desperate voice of his sister. _

_"Help me Reno. I don't want to die. Please. I don't want to die!" _

_"I'll get the gil somehow!" Reno cried out. "I don't know how, but I will. Just please don't shut it off. Don't let her die. I'm begging you!" _

_"You don't have the gil. You can't get it. You live in the slums. You have nothing. No one cares about you. You're both just street scum." _

_"Stop it! Stop it!" Reno screamed, clutching his head and closing his eyes. _

_And abruptly, there as silence. The voices were gone. The room was dark, but not completely. He didn't want to look up. He didn't want to see what was before him. But as if of their own will, his eyes opened and his head rose. _

_Rory's bed was still in front of him. But it was dark now. The small figure still lay it. But the machines were silent. Everything was completely still. _

_"No," he said softly. _

_A single dim light cast it's stark illumination on the bed. His sister lay there. The tubes were gone. He could see the bruises on her face now, but they didn't seem to matter anymore. She looked so small, so frail, lying there in the bed. Her eyes were closed. She wasn't moving. Her chest did not rise and fall. No breath passed her lips. _

_"Oh God no," he moaned. _

_His head dropped, looking down at his hand in front of him, and the electrical cord that it held. _

_"No, no, no, no, NO!"_

Reno's whole body jerked. He looked around, having no idea for a moment where he was. The room looked totally unfamiliar. There was a bed here, but it was not in a hospital, and he was the one laying on it. A small light in the ceiling lit the room, but there was nothing else here save the gray walls and steel door.

His cell. That's where he was. Where he had been the last three days. His cell in Vanguard headquarters in Gongaga.

He sat up, his feet dropping onto the cold floor. He brought his trembling hands up to his head.

God, he needed a beer. He felt like his head was going to split open. He hadn't had a dream like that in years. Right after it happened it was all he ever dreamed about. It had taken months before the nightmares had finally faded. But they had. Why had it suddenly come back to him now?

Without thinking his hand slipped into his pocket. He pulled out his keychain. His hands settled in his lap, staring at the keys and the only other small item on the chain, a tiny pocketknife. It wasn't even half an inch long, not even threatening enough for the guards to have taken it away from him. She had given it to him as a gift. She hadn't bought it, of course. They hadn't had any gil for that. Most of the time they hadn't even had gil for food. She told him she had found it, but it was more likely she had stolen it. Not that it mattered. It was the last thing she had ever given him. Just a couple of months before she had been killed. His only remembrance.

He realized his eyes were moist.

He stood up abruptly, shoving the keychain deep into his pocket. He clenched his fists, so hard his nails dug into the palms of his hands.

"Goddamit!" he snapped.

What the hell was the matter with him? It had been years ago. She was dead, and there was nothing he could do about it. So get over it already! He had learned a long time ago that life didn't give anyone from the slums of Midgar a break. And that was fine with him. He didn't need any help, from God or anyone else. No matter what life threw at him, he was going to chew it up and spit it back. He wasn't going to let anyone or anything beat him!

The sound of footsteps outside snapped him to attention.

He sat down on the bed, taking a moment to compose himself. By the time the door swung open, his face held it's usual smirk.

Mr. Van Cleff stepped into the room, followed by two burly guards.

"I don't remember calling for room service," Reno quipped.

Van Cleff didn't reply. He stepped into the center of the room and looked at Reno while the two guards stopped beside the door.

"We've captured some of your friends," Van Cleff said.

"Oh really?" Reno replied, sounding extremely bored. "And who might that be?"

"Oh no one important really," Van Cleff replied. "Just a few members of Avalanche."

"Avalanche?" Reno said dismissively. "Whatever gave you the impression they were my friends? I couldn't care less what happens to any of them."

"Is that so?" Van Cleff said slowly.

"Yes it is," Reno replied. He stood up, keeping a bored expression on his face. "Just because we've worked together on occasion doesn't make us friends. As far as I'm concerned, they're all just a bunch of losers who, through sheer luck, happened to beat Sephiroth and save the world. Kind of like winning the lottery, you know? So if you think I'm going to get all upset about them being captured, I'm afraid you've got another thing coming."

"Well, that's interesting news," Van Cleff replied after a moment. "But you know, I really think you should be concerned about this."

"And why is that?"

"Because, the President was holding onto you as a possible bargaining chip. With Avalanche, as it turns out. But from what you say, if you really aren't friends, it looks like you wouldn't be much of a bargaining chip after all. But even if you were friends, it doesn't matter anymore. Now that we have some members of Avalanche, we don't really have any reason to hold on to you. I'm afraid you've outlived your usefulness."

Reno almost frowned, but managed to keep his face impassive, even after he saw the gun appear in Van Cleff's hand.

"I've waited a long time for this," Van Cleff said. "I wanted to get rid of you right off the bat, after what you did to me. But I'm a businessman. I wasn't going to let something as petty as revenge get in the way of what we are trying to accomplish. I have to tell you though, you have no idea how happy it made me when the President gave me to okay to kill you."

Reno didn't reply. He kept his face a mask, not giving away anything he was thinking. But his mind was racing furiously. He hadn't expected this. When they hadn't killed him right away he figured he was safe. He figured they had some plan for him, that he had time to figure a way out. But in the few days here he hadn't been able to come up with anything. Everything here was monitored. No one ever came into his cell alone. He had seen no chance at all to escape.

And now it looked like he was out of time. The gun was already leveled on him. Van Cleff wasn't close enough for him to jump without being shot first. And the two guards were also armed. It didn't look like he would stand a chance if he tried anything, but then again, if he had nothing else to lose he'd certainly make an attempt. If was going to go down, he was going to down fighting.

But in order to have any chance at all, he'd have to get a little closer.

"That may not be such a good idea," he said.

"I think it's a very good idea," Van Cleff countered.

"I may not be friends with Avalanche, but like I said, we have worked together," Reno continued. "I know a lot about them. A lot of information that might prove useful."

Van Cleff just smirked.

"Do I detect and attempt to grasp at any straw to remain alive?" he said, quite accurately. "I told you already, we have some real members of Avalanche now. If we need information, we can get it out of them. We don't need you."

"Yeah but you might find that they're a bit harder to pry information from than you hope," Reno replied. "Whereas, I'll tell you what you want to know willingly."

"If we spare you life," Van Cleff finished.

"Well, yes. I don't think that would be too much to ask."

Van Cleff smiled.

"Really Reno, you're starting to sound pathetic. But perhaps we can work something out. I might find it in my heart to spare your life, if you begged me."

Reno just stared at him.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Van Cleff said. "Do you want to live or not? Go ahead, get down on your knees and beg."

Reno's face didn't give any hint of what he was thinking. He had no intention of begging in front of this man. Of in front of anybody. He'd only begged once in his life, and he'd promised himself he'd never do that again.

Besides, there was no doubt in his mind that whatever he did, Van Cleff had every intention of killing him anyway.

"You're running out of..." Van Cleff continued.

When suddenly the room was plunged into darkness.

Reno didn't hesitate. His years of training as a Turk had honed his reflexes to respond immediately to any situation. He dove forward, at the same time twisting to the side. All the lights were out, and there were no windows here, but he had a pretty good idea that Van Cleff hadn't moved.

The gun fired, going off so close it left his ears ringing. He felt something graze against the side of his head. And then his hand shot out, grabbing hold of Van Cleff's arm. He twisted round, getting leverage on the man's arm, forcing it to the side. He grabbed hold of Van Cleff's hand with his free one. There was another loud retort as he forced the gun to go off, in the direction he hoped one of the guards still stood.

He continued turning, pulling forward, twisting Van Cleff's arm and knocking him to the floor, the gun spinning away in the darkness.

Reno felt a hand grab at his shoulder. He immediately brought his elbow back, into the midriff of the guard who was trying to grab him. The man left out of puff of air as it was forced from his lungs. Reno spun around and stuck again, hitting the man squarely in the face and sending him to the floor.

Someone grabbed his leg and tried to pull him down. But he escaped the man's grasp. He swept his leg around, and felt a satisfying thud. Van Cleff gave let out a cry of pain and fell back. Reno heard him scrambling away, sounding like he was on his hands and knees. But Reno wasn't about to let him get away. By luck, he might just happen upon that gun somewhere on the floor. The man was making so much noise Reno didn't need any light to know where he was. He lunged forward, slamming a knee into the man's side. Van Cleff cried out again. Reno felt a kick hit him in the side of his leg, but it didn't hurt much nor do any damage. Without his gun, Van Cleff wasn't much of a threat. Reno reached out, grabbing hold of the man's shoulder. He brought his fist down again, on the back of the man's head, and Van Cleff sunk to the ground.

Reno looked up. It was still pitch dark. He had no idea what had happened, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Now was his chance to get out of here.

He made for where he was pretty sure the door lay. A moment before the darkness had been his friend, but now it was working against him. He couldn't move very fast in the dark, and the longer he hung around, the more likely it was that reinforcements would show up. He had to hurry, but he couldn't see a damn thing. If there had been a power outage, what happened to the emergency lights? He knew for a fact Vanguard headquarters had back up generators. It had been in the employee manual.

Groping his way forward, he managed to feel the door frame. He stepped through it. A light fell on him. He turned to look, then jumped back into the room as a shot rang out, pinging against the wall nearby.

"Shit!" he exclaimed.

The beam of a flashlight filled the hall outside.

"I had a feeling you wouldn't be so easy to get rid of," a familiar voice called out.

Reno paused just a moment before speaking.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you Darsa?"

"You could say that," she replied. "Tell me Reno, how did you do it? I didn't think anyone could take out the power and the generators at the same time."

Again Reno hesitated. He had no idea how it had all happened. But if she wanted to think it was all planned by him, he wasn't about to disagree.

"It was a lot simpler than you'd think," he replied. Trying not to make any noise, he dropped to the floor, searching with his hands for Van Cleff's gun. The flashlight outside did not give off enough light for him to see anything in the room other than the dim outlines of the two guards lying by the door.

"Oh really?" she replied. "Why don't you come out here and tell me all about it?"

"After the reception you just gave me?" he replied. For a moment he wondered why she hadn't come into the room already. After all, he was unarmed, he was a sitting duck. But then he realized she didn't know that. She must have known Van Cleff had a gun, and Reno had obviously taken him out. She probably assumed he had the gun already. Which might have been why she had fired first.

Well, that was another thing he was perfectly happy letting her believe. Where the hell was the damn thing?

"Why don't you come in here so I can return the favor?" he called.

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't think that's necessary," she replied. "You can't get out of the room, and it's only a matter of time before order is restored here and help arrives. All I have to do is stand here and wait. I'm afraid if you want to get out of here, you're going to have to come out of that room, and soon."

Unfortunately, he had to admit that was the truth. He had to get past her somehow, and he wasn't going to be able to do that unarmed. That stupid gun had to be here somewhere.

There was a flash of light from outside. Reno's head shot up as suddenly the entire interior of the room was illuminated. He looked around frantically, but the lightning only lasted a moment, and he didn't see the gun before he was plunged into darkness once more.

What the hell? Did she have materia too? And if so, why was she using it?

But he didn't have much time to ponder, for suddenly he realized the light from the flashlight was getting closer.

Had she decided that he didn't have a gun after all? Was she calling his bluff? He didn't have time to think about it. In a moment she would be in the door, and he was defenseless. If she came in now he was a sitting duck. He scrambled over until he was right beside the door. His only chance now was to catch her by surprise as she entered.

She came in. For a moment he saw her shadowy figure, then he kicked out and the flashlight went spinning away. He stepped forward, jabbing at her head, but with catlike instincts she twisted out of the way, somehow managing to avoid the blow. At the same time her own fist shot out, striking Reno square in the nose. He fell back and banged against the wall.

But even as he did, it hit him how small the shadowy figure had been. Too small to be Darsa.

"Yuffie?" he blurted out.

"Reno!"

For a moment neither one of them said anything.

"I think you broke my freakin' nose!"

Yuffie shrugged.

"Sorry, I didn't know it was you," she said defensively. "You shouldn't have attacked me."

"Well, you could have said something!" he said angrily.

"I wasn't sure you were here," she snapped. "You could have said something yourself, you know."

"I thought you were Darsa!" he exclaimed.

"Who the hell is Darsa?"

"That girl that was outside," Reno replied.

"Do I look anything like her?" Yuffie replied.

"In case you hadn't noticed, it's _dark_," Reno shot back.

"Well, it wouldn't be if you hadn't knocked the flashlight out of my hand," Yuffie replied.

Reno just mumbled a curse.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he snapped.

"What the think I'm doing here? I'm rescuing you, you idiot!"

Reno just looked at her for a moment. The truth was, he thought Yuffie might make an attempt to save him, but he never thought it would work. Rather he assumed if she did she'd just end up getting caught too. He had hoped when he didn't show up that she would call Rude to get some help, but he hadn't really expected the impulsive ninja to do that. Could it be that she had actually worked out a coherent plan?

"You shut off the power?" he questioned dumbly.

"Well, it didn't shut off by itself!" she exclaimed.

"And how did you get all the way in here?" he questioned.

"Do you really want to stand here discussing this?" she asked. "The power's not going to stay off forever. It's only a matter of time before they fix it. Minutes probably. Don't you think it would be better if we got the hell out of here while we can?"

Reno nodded. What the hell was with her? She was being so...logical.

He stepped over and picked up the flashlight. It was still dark, and they needed to see. The beam swung toward Yuffie and stopped.

She was wearing a pleated navy blue skirt, a white shirt and pink tie. It looked just like a schoolgirl's uniform. Her hair was in pigtails.

For a moment he just stood there.

Then he burst out laughing.

"Oh shuddap!" she snapped. "It's a disguise!"

But he couldn't stop. Pigtails!

"You look like...you're...twelve years old!" he managed to say between gasps of laughter.

She took a step toward him, her face red with anger.

"I'm _supposed_ to! It's a disguise, I told you. All the guards thought I was just a little lost girl. Which was exactly what I wanted them to think, until I kicked their ass."

Reno managed to finally get a hold of himself.

"Yeah, right," he said. "I just wish I had a camera."

"Can we just get out of here!"

"All right, all right, let's go," he replied, trying to sound serious, but still grinning.

They made their way out into the hallway, then ran down the corridor. Yuffir quickly led him through a maze of hallways.

"Do you know where you're going?" he questioned.

"I got in here, didn't I?" he retorted.

Suddenly the lights around them flickered and them came back on, making them start.

"Didn't take them too long," Reno muttered.

"Hurry!" was all Yuffie said.

They turned down another hallway, but stopped immediately when they saw half a dozen guards at the end of it.

"Halt!"

They spun around and ran the other way.

Yuffie make a dozen more turns, and by now Reno was convinced she had no idea where she was going, but it seemed pointless to point that out to her. He could only hope they would run into an area he was familiar with.

The pursuit was still behind them. In fact, it seemed like more had joined the chase. Reno could hear shouts from all different directions. It seemed only a matter of time before they were surrounded.

They ran past another hallway. Shots and the thudding of bullets against the wall told them the pursuit was closing in.

"You sure planned this out carefully," Reno managed to say.

"Oh shutup," Yuffie exclaimed. "You can't expect everything to go smoothly. You're out of that cell, aren't you?"

"For all the good it's going to do me," Reno said sourly.

They came around another corner. Nearby was a doorway leading into a stairwell.

"C'mon," Yuffie called out.

She ran to the door and flung it open. She started up the steps.

"Wait!" he said. "You're going up? We need to go down to get out of here!"

"They're going to expect us to do down," she replied, not stopping.

Probably true, but that didn't help them escape.

"So what are you planning on doing?" he protested. "We can't hide in here forever. They're bound to find us. We've got to get away."

"Would you just be quiet and come on!" Yuffie called. She was already out of site in front of him.

With a mumbled curse he pounded up the stairs after her. She obviously wasn't going to listen to reason. He had half a mind to go down anyway, but he followed her, even if it was against his better judgment.

Three floors up they came to the top, the sixth floor. Above that, there was only a ladder leading up to the roof.

Without hesitating Yuffie continued up the ladder.

"Where the hell are you going?" Reno questioned again.

She didn't answer. Reno was about to protest again when the door to the hallway beside him suddenly burst open.

Again his Turk instincts saved him. Before the guards could react he kicked the first one, sending him stumbling back into those behind him. Reno pressed forward, striking with his fists. Another man went down.

A shot rang out, and Reno felt a burning sensation in his left arm. He kicked again, sending the man who had fired the gun stumbling backwards.

Reno was out into the hall now. The three men in front of him were down, but he heard shouts and looking up saw a number of other guards running down the hall towards him.

He scooped up the gun that the man that had shot at him had dropped, then turned, grabbed the door he tried to swing it closed, but the body of one of the guards he had taken down was in the way. With a curse he kicked the man with his foot, but the man was much larger than he was an hardly budged.

He turned to run back in the stairwell, and ran smack into Yuffie, almost knocking the materia that was glowing bright green right out of her hand.

A moment later the familiar flash of lightning lit up the hallway, and with the cry, the guards fell back.

"C'mon," Yuffie yelled. "What the hell is taking you so long?"

"It's not that easy to climb when three men are on crawling all over you," he snapped back.

"Just hurry!"

She was already starting back up the ladder. Reno looked up and saw the night sky through the opening above. He still didn't see much sense in going up to the roof, but it didn't seem like they had much choice anymore. The lightning had slowed down those behind them, but he knew it would take a lot more than that to stop them.

He scrambled out onto the roof, looking around. He had had no way of keeping track of time in the cell. There had been no clocks or even a window. The stars and sickle moon low on the horizon to the west made it apparent it was night, but how late, he couldn't say.

Not that it had any significance.

The faint moonlight outlined a radio tower in the center of the roof, extended up perhaps ten more stories. A few large pieces of machinery were the only other structures in sight.

Reno slapped to door closed behind him, but he had no key to the lock. There was no way to secure it. They couldn't stop the guards from coming up, even if this was the only way, which Reno was sure was not the case.

"What do we do now?" he called out.

"This way!" Yuffie yelled.

She darted across the roof, headed in the general direction of one of the pieces of machinery. He heard a shout, and shots ran out. He turned back, returning fire with his own gun. Dozens of guards were pouring out of the door they come through, and more where appearing from other directions. He couldn't tell how many, but there wasn't any doubt it was a lot more than the two of them could handle.

The reached the machinery and dove behind it. The machine was only a few feet from the north edge of the building, and Reno found himself sprawled on the ground right beside the edge. He glanced down, the turned to look at Yuffie. He could see that she didn't have any climbing gear. And even with her purported ninja skills, he didn't think she could scale down the wall without any equipment, and he was certain he couldn't. It seemed like all she had done was gotten them trapped on the roof.

"So this was your plan?" he questioned.

But she wasn't paying attention. Instead he saw her concentrating on another materia. A red one this time.

"Tidal wave!"

In seconds the huge bulk of Leviathan appeared, shimmering over their heads in the darkness. The beast reared back it's head, then with a roar unleashed it's attack. Reno couldn't see their opponents, the machinery was in the way, but he was quite familiar with the damage Leviathan could do.

But still, he knew that wouldn't be enough.

For a few seconds after Leviathan faded away into the darkness, there was silence.

And then the gunfire rattled around them again, perhaps even louder than before. Suddenly the air was rent with light and a hail of sparks shot from the machine they were using for cover.

"Shit!" Reno yelled. "They've got materia too!"

The sparks abated, but a fire had started in the machinery. Now black smoke curled out of it.

Reno stepped around the side, fired a few shots, and retreated back. The guards had been close, much closer than he had hoped. It wouldn't be too much longer before they were overrun, even with Yuffie's materia.

"Stand back to back!" he called out. The enemy would be upon them any moment.

But Yuffie didn't seem to hear him. She was looking out over the edge.

"Yuffie!" he shouted.

She turned to look at him, then pointed.

Almost as if out of nowhere, a black helicopter suddenly appeared over their heads. Reno brought his gun up to fire.

"They're with us!" Yuffie yelled, pulling down his arm.

Reno just looked at her for a moment, then turned toward the helicopter again. It was right over their heads now, the blades kicking up dust all around them. He hadn't heard it approach, the din of battle had masked the sound of it. He shaded his eyes to block out the wind. A face appeared above him. He recognized Lai Li in the chopper, a moment before a rope ladder came tumbling down to them.

"Hurry up!" he heard her shout.

Reno didn't need any prodding. He grabbed hold of the ladder and scrambled up. Even as he did so a green light glowed above him, as Lai Li cast fire on their opponents. In spite of that he heard a few shots in the darkness behind him, but none found their mark.

In seconds he pulled himself inside the aircraft. He got a glimpse of Rude at the controls. A moment later Yuffie scrambled up behind him, pulling herself in before he could even get out of the way. They both ended up in a heap on the floor.

As soon as they were in the helicopter turned away, and in seconds the Vanguard building was disappearing into the darkness behind them.

Reno sat up, looking at Yuffie, who was practically in his lap. He couldn't believe it. Not only had she successfully infiltrated Vanguard to come rescue him, but she had contacted the others to get their help. She had done exactly what a level headed mature person would have done. It hardly seemed possible.

"Are you all right?" he heard Lai Li ask.

"Yeah," Reno replied absently, forgetting the ache in his arm. "You guys took out the power?"

"Lai Li did," he heard Rude speak for the first time. "She hacked into their computers and turned off the power grid. But it was all Yuffie's idea."

Yuffie looked at him with a big grin on her face.

"Yup, pretty good job of rescuing, if I do say so myself."

"Rescuing?" Reno said. "You didn't rescue me. I had everything under control before you showed up."

He may be stunned by the job she had done, but he'd be damned if he let her know that.

"Oh yeah, right," she snapped. "You're just saying that cause of all the times I've said that to you."

"No I'm not," Reno replied. "If you hadn't shown up, I'd have been out of there an hour ago, and with a lot less trouble than you put us through."

"Why you ungrateful ingrate!" Yuffie sputtered. "You are so full of it! Whatssamatter, can't handle the fact that a girl had to come rescue you?"

"Kid would be more like it," Reno replied, looking at her with a grin. "Pigtails. I can't believe it."

"I told you it's a disguise!" Yuffie snapped. "You know, you may have escaped from Vanguard, but it's still a long drop from this helicopter!"

"Are you threatening me?"

"Like there's anything you could do about it if I was!" Yuffie said.

"Like a little girl like you could hurt me!"

"You didn't say that before when I broke your nose!"

"You didn't break it," Reno responded. "I was exaggerating. And you caught me by surprise."

"So how would you like it if I finished the job now!" she snapped.

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Jerk!"

"Moron!"

Up front Lai Li sat down beside Rude, who just shook his head slowly.

"Sometimes I don't know why we even bother," he muttered.

**AUTHORS NOTE:**

* * *

_Reno's dream sequence in this chapter might have seemed familiar to some of you. That's because it's based on the story Northern Lights by Tini and was used with permission. If you'd like to see the entire story, you can find it __here__. It's an excellent story, but be warned, it's a real tearjerker! _


	14. An Enemy Revealed

CHAPTER XIV

AN ENEMY REVEALED

"My feet hurt."

Vincent turned around and looked at Elena. She had an expression on her face that he had learned meant she wasn't happy.

"Perhaps you should have worn more comfortable shoes," he suggested.

The suggestion did not seem to improve Elena's disposition. In fact, if anything, she looked even more unhappy.

"What?" he questioned. It was obvious there was more on her mind than she was saying.

She looked around them for a moment. They were on a narrow dirt road in the woods outside of Costa del Sol. Snaking above them ran the power lines that they had seen emerging from the ocean from their hotel room. They had set out more than two hours ago, leaving the hotel room to follow the power lines, curious as to where it might lead.

Elena hadn't planned on a long trip. Both of them had expected the lines to lead them to someplace in the town itself, but that had not been the case. Instead they had passed right by the town out into the forest beyond. It didn't seem to make a lot of sense.

Now she was hot, and tired, and beginning to think more and more that they were just on a wild goose chase.

"Well, if you had told me we'd be wandering through the woods for hours, I'd have worn my hiking gear," she said sarcastically.

Vincent said nothing. He hadn't known they'd be doing this either, but he had a feeling pointing that out to her wouldn't do much good.

Elena looked up at the power lines over their heads.

"How long can they go on?" she questioned. "There's nothing out here. Where could they lead? Maybe we're just wasting out time."

"They have to go somewhere," Vincent replied.

"No duh," Elena muttered. She wasn't in a good mood at all, and Vincent's unsympathetic attitude only made things worse. "But I thought they'd lead into town, not out here in the middle of nowhere. Maybe we were wrong. Maybe these lines don't send power from here to Junon, maybe they send power from Junon to here."

"To what purpose?" Vincent questioned.

"How should I know?" Elena responded. "All I know is we've been walking for two hours following these lines and there's no end in sight. For all we know they could go clear to Corel, or beyond. Maybe that's what they're doing, sending power to Corel. It's going to take us just as long to get back you know. If we keep going much farther we're not going to be able to get back before dark, and who wants to wander around in this forest after dark? We didn't bring anything to eat. And if I keep walking like this much longer I'm going to get blisters on my feet. We should have rented chocobo's if we were going this far."

Vincent repressed the urge to sigh.

"It doesn't make sense that they'd be sending power to Corel, or anyplace else," Vincent replied. "You said yourself that Junon doesn't have enough power to cover the city itself, much less send some to Corel. The power has to be going to Junon."

"So maybe Corel is sending power to Junon," Elena replied. "Maybe it's nothing more than that."

"It seems unlikely," Vincent replied. "You would think if that was the case, Barret would be aware of it."

"He's just the Mayor," Elena replied. "If a private company was sending power to Junon, it would be none of his business."

Vincent didn't reply for a moment. He didn't think that was it, but he had to admit it was possible.

"Perhaps," he said. "But I don't think that's the case. I find the fact that this leads off into the woods suspicious."

"So we're just going to blindly follow it no matter where it goes?" Elena questioned.

This time the sigh did escape form his lips.

"We've come this far," he said. "It seems senseless to turn back now."

"And it seems senseless to go on," Elena stated.

"So what would you like me to do?" he questioned. "I can't just conjure a chocobo out of nowhere. I don't have a lure, and this isn't an area wild one's are known to inhabit. Would you like to stay here and rest while I go ahead?"

"You're going to leave me here?" Elena exclaimed. "All alone in the middle of nowhere?"

Vincent opened his mouth, then closed it again. Why did she insist on being so exasperating?

He stepped over toward her.

"Would you like me to carry you?"

She hesitated for a moment, looking at him.

"Really?" she said, and the first time since they had left the hotel, she smiled.

"Yes, if it will get you to shut up," he replied.

The smile vanished.

"Just go on," she snapped. "Go ahead. Go follow your stupid power lines. Leave me here. I'll be fine!"

She stomped over to a fallen tree trunk and plopped herself down upon it.

"Elena.."

Not too long ago Vincent would have done exactly as she requested. But he had learned enough about women in general and Elena in particular to know by now that that would be a very bad idea.

Instead he stepped over to her and took her by the hand.

"You're right," he said. "It was a bad idea to come out here on foot. I should have realized that. I guess it would be best if we went back."

Elena sat there looking at him for a moment. He took the fact that she hadn't pulled her hand away as a good sign.

"Do you really think so?" she said slowly.

"Yes."

Elena looked in his eyes. Even after all their time together, it was still difficult to read his expression. She knew that sometimes he said things just because he thought that was what she wanted to hear. She wanted to know that he was being sincere, but it was impossible to tell.

And why was it so important to her anyway? He obviously wasn't tired. He could continue, was in fact anxious to. It probably wouldn't bother him at all to walk clear to Corel. She really wasn't worried about being left behind. She was a big girl and could take care of herself. But she didn't want him to. She didn't want him to _want_ to leave her behind, even if it was the reasonable thing to do. After all this time together, after he had told her that he loved her, why was she still so insecure?

She didn't know. She didn't know the answer to that. It was just the way she was, and it didn't seem likely it was going to change soon. But she realized she was being foolish. She was letting her feelings get in the way of what they were trying to accomplish, and how many times had she told herself she wouldn't do that? It was important that they find out what was going on here. At least he had made the offer to go back. Even that was something.

"No, it's all right," she said, standing up again. "It's not that bad. I can go on a little farther. But I can't walk all the way to Corel without stopping. How about if we don't find anything in another half hour we call it a day?"

Vincent pondered this for a moment, then nodded.

"Very well."

Without another word they continued onward, but Elena couldn't help but notice that he did not let go of her hand.

As it was, about ten minutes later they saw a clearing come into view through the trees ahead of them.

"What's that?" Elena said slowly.

Vincent did not reply at first. They walked closer. As the trees fell away they saw that the land had been stripped clear in a huge shallow bowl in front of them.

"Looks like some kind of quarry," Vincent stated.

"Why would they have power lines going to a quarry?" Elena asked.

Vincent shook his head.

"I suppose they need electricity, but they wouldn't need those high tension wires for just that."

They reached the clearing, the tall conifers dropping away behind them. The quarry was surrounded by a chain link fence, topped with barbed wire. There was an opening where the road passed through, however. They walked up and stood in front of the entrance, looking around.

The trees had been stripped away, revealing the dark hues of the earth below. There were four buildings on the floor of the bowl, the wood planks on them a weather beaten gray. The road spiraled down into the bottom of the quarry, then led past the buildings into a large dark tunnel. They could both see that the power lines led into the tunnel as well. There were also a few earthmoving machines scattered about the floor of the quarry.

"Looks deserted," Elena commented.

"Looks can be deceiving," Vincent replied. "Some of the tire tracks on the road are recent."

They passed the fence, and made their way toward the bottom, going in a straight line instead of following the road. The ground was steep, and Elena had to watch her footing. She had no intention of falling and tumbling down the slope like a fool. No one challenged them. When they passed one of the large machines, Elena could see the paint was chipped and rusted.

"Even if it isn't deserted, it doesn't look like they've done any mining lately. At least, not with these machines."

Vincent nodded.

"I'm beginning to suspect that the quarry isn't really a quarry at all, just cover for something else."

"Something else?" Elena said. "Like what?"

"I'm not sure," he replied. "But I have a feeling we may find the answer in that tunnel."

The reached the bottom without incident. Passing by the buildings, Elena couldn't help but notice they looked deserted and forgotten as well.

They had just passed the last of them when Vincent suddenly stopped and looked around sharply.

"What?" Elena questioned.

"Did you feel that?"

"What?' she repeated.

"That trembling," Vincent replied slowly.

"You mean, like an earthquake?"

"Yes," he replied. "Or an explosion."

Elena shook her head,

"I don't feel or hear anything."

They fell silent, just standing there. Elena was well aware that Vincent's senses were keener than hers, nevertheless she strained to pick up any sound, or any sense that the ground was moving. And then, a moment later, she did feel something. Just the barest sensation, but it was there.

"There it is again!" Vincent exclaimed.

"I felt it!" Elena said excitedly.

As the stood there every once in a while they felt it again. They walked forward slowly. There seemed to be no pattern. Sometimes it came in rapid succession, sometimes there was a long pause between.

They were almost at the entrance to the tunnel now. Vincent stopped again when they reached it. Elena didn't need Vincent to warn here, she could hear the sound coming from the tunnel as well as he. It sounded like a vehicle.

A jeep suddenly came screeching out of the darkness. It shot out of the tunnel like a bullet, barely giving them time to leap out of the way. Elena saw three figures and heard a shout, but she couldn't make out what they said. By the time she fumbled to pull out her gun, it was past them.

It sped down the road, being driven recklessly fast. It seemed whoever they were, they were in an awful hurry to get out of there. Elena saw one person looking back at them, but those in the jeep obviously had no intention of stopping to question them.

She was just about to comment on that fact to Vincent, when they heard more noises in the tunnel.

This time it was the sound of voices and running feet. They both stood there staring as a horde of people suddenly appeared running out of the tunnel.

By now Vincent and Elena both had their guns drawn. But they soon realized they weren't needed. The people showed no interest at all in them, just appeared to be fleeing the tunnel as fast as their feet could carry them. Those few who did seem to notice them urged them to flee as well, though they didn't stop to give any explanations as to why.

Which did not sit well with Vincent. His clawed hand flashed out, and a lab coated gentleman with a balding pate suddenly found himself dangling on the end of it like a hooked fish.

"What's going on?" Vincent demanded.

Ordinarily just the sight of Vincent was enough to cause unease in those around him. To be zeroed in on like the man now in Vincent's clutches, like prey being run down by a cheetah, was usually enough to send his quarry into spasms of pure terror. However in this case the man just tried desperately to twist his arm out of the ex-Turks grip, seemingly willing to do anything to continue his rapid retreat, even if it meant leaving the arm in question behind. Whatever was scaring them, it was causing more terror than even Vincent could inspire.

And that was not a good sign.

"Let go of me," the man yelled, his eyes wide with fear. "She's coming. She'll kill us all. We have to get out of here!"

"Who's coming? Who's going to kill you?" Vincent snapped.

But the man appeared so crazed with fear he didn't even seem to hear Vincent's questions.

There was a flash of light, and a loud explosion from farther down the tunnel. Both Vincent and Elena's heads turned in that direction. At the same time the man tore from Vincent's grasp, and though he left behind a long piece of bloodstained cloth from his shirt in the metallic fingers of Vincent's claw, he seemed to consider it a small price to pay.

But Vincent was no longer concerned about the man. Out of the darkness and smoke of the tunnel in front of them a figure emerged, and it seemed likely to Vincent that he and Elena were about to confront the cause of all this consternation.

The man had been accurate about one thing at least, it was a woman who stood before them. She was wearing a business suit rather similar to Elena's. Her head was covered with blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders. Average height. She did not appear to Vincent to be particularly threatening. He wondered for a moment if there was someone else following her.

But she was walking casually down the tunnel. She showed none of the fear that had so gripped the others. She was either made of much stronger stuff than all of them, or she was indeed the source of the alarm.

She stopped about a dozen paces away, regarding them curiously.

"So, there is someone here brave enough not to run like a scared rabbit," she said. "How foolish..."

She stopped, her eyes probing Vincent, settling on his clawed arm, and suddenly a grin appeared on her face.

"Vincent Valentine," she said slowly.

Vincent gave no outward sign that he was surprised she recognized him. As far as he could recall, he had never seen her before.

"And you are?" he questioned.

In reply her eyes suddenly glowed emerald green. Her hand came up and Vincent was thrown violently backwards as shards of ice slammed into him.

It only took a moment for Elena to recover from the surprise of the attack on her companion. With a shout of rage she brought her gun up and fired five shots in rapid succession.

The faint white glow that gave away the materia barrier around the woman as the bullets struck it told Elena that continuing to fire would be pointless.

She reached into her jacket, groping for her own materia, a resource they seemed to have precious little of lately. She suspected that that brat Yuffie's frequent visits to Turk headquarters had more than a little to do with that.

Before she had a chance to pull any out however, she realized that she had caught their adversaries attention.

She threw herself out of the way as a blast of fire tore past her.

The woman advanced slowly. At the same time wave after wave of magic pummeled both Elena and Vincent. Elena had never seen someone cast spells so rapidly. She also hadn't failed to notice, that in spite of the severity of the attacks, their opponent's hands were empty of materia. She also couldn't help hear the womans deranged laughter.

But the fact that the woman was obviously unbalanced didn't seem to confer any particular advantage at the moment. Instead the opposite seemed to be true. Her insanity only seemed to contribute to the singlemindedness of her attack. Vincent was down. They hadn't been prepared, and the woman's attack had been so ferocious and sudden that he hadn't had a chance. He hadn't even had time to get off an attack of his own, or transform into the Chaos beast. Elena could see him now, crumpled against the far wall, and she had a feeling he was seriously hurt. And even though he showed no sign of consciousness, or even life, the magic attacks continued to strike him. Which only served to infuriate Elena.

Somehow her hand had finally managed to grab a hold of one of her own materia. She pulled out three orbs, all her hand could hold. Glancing at them, she quickly tossed aside all but a red one. This enemy was like none she had met before. She knew she'd need the strongest possible attack to have even a slender chance of doing any damage.

The materia glowed in her hand.

Almost instantly the flaming fire beast appear in the air above her and launched it's wall of flame. For a moment Elena opponent was engulfed, but any satisfaction Elena might have felt at the sight was shortlived. As both the fire and it's creator faded away, so too did the familiar reddish glow surrounding her opponent, a glow that told Elena that the woman had not only a barrier to physical attacks, but magical as well.

How could one person be so strong, Elena found herself thinking, finding herself beginning to become frantic. Nothing she did seemed to have any affect at all. How could she fight something like this? Too late now, she realized those people they had met earlier had had good reason to run.

Unfortunately, that was no longer an option for her. Even if she had the time, she wasn't about to abandon Vincent.

She cried out in pain as fire suddenly flared about her, her opponent obviously a believer in fighting fire with fire.

Elena dodged to the side, desperately seeking a plan. She couldn't just stand here dodging all day. If she didn't find a way to hit back, it was just a matter of time before she joined Vincent on the ground. Permanently.

She cut to the side, and then suddenly ran straight at her opponent.

Bullets and materia hadn't had any effect. Perhaps it was time to use her fists. It seemed silly, and she knew it was a desperate gamble. The barrier that protected her enemy would prevent her from doing much damage, but she was hoping that what little damage she could do would be enough to distract the woman from casting her spells, or at least slow them down a bit. It might at least buy her a little time to either think of something else, or perhaps give Vincent a chance to recover enough to get back in the fight.

But even as she ran forward a green mist filled the air.

The release of the Ultima tossed Elena backwards like the proverbial leaf in a storm. She found herself flying through the air, hurtling toward the wall behind her like a runaway locomotive. She twisted round, trying to get her arms and legs in front of her so they could absorb at least some of the shock.

She was partially successful. She screamed in pain as her arms hit the wall, followed rapidly by the rest of her. She rebounded and fell heavily to the floor, agonizing pain shooting through her whole body. Barely conscious, she tried to lift herself up, but cried out again and immediately fell back to the floor as her arm gave out. She looked at it and saw that it was bent in a direction that arms do not usually bend.

"Oh god," she moaned. She managed to lift her head a few inches off the floor, though even that simple act seemed to take a supreme effort. She looked around, dazed. Neither her gun nor any materia was in sight. She couldn't even get up off the floor, much less continue to fight. With an empty feeling rushing up from the pit of her stomach, she realized she was helpless.

Her brain confused by the fog that seemed to fill it, she turned to look for her opponent.

And saw her walking away.

The woman was already past her, already out of the tunnel, walking toward the building and the road beyond, without even a glance back.

A sigh of relief managed to escape Elena's lips. The woman must have thought her dead, or perhaps had lost interest once Elena had ceased to be a threat. Or maybe there was some other reason, or no reason at all for that matter. If she was insane, she wouldn't need a reason, now would she.

But Elena didn't care to speculate right now. She was just glad to still be alive. She turned away from the woman to see Vincents still form not far away.

"Vincent!" she croaked.

Summoning all her will, she dragged herself over to him. He was lying on his side, in a pile of debris. She could see blood on his leg and face, and it obvious he was seriously injured. With one last effort, she pulled herself up beside him, and to her enormous relief, saw the slow rise and fall of his chest.

He was still alive then. She lifted her head again. There was no one around now. The place seemed deserted once more. They were miles from Costa del Sol, and it didn't seem likely they be getting any help from that direction. Elena forced her hand into her pocket again, but it was empty. Not only her materia, but her cell phone was gone too. She looked across the floor, it was covered with rubble but she couldn't see any sign of her materia. She couldn't even cast cure on him without it. And she certainly couldn't carry him back to Costa del Sol. She couldn't even walk herself, much less carry someone else. There was no way to summon help and she couldn't get them out of here on her own. Vincent was alive, but how long was he going to stay that way?

* * *

"I hate this!"

Red looked at Cloud curiously.

"You hate what?"

"This damn waiting," Cloud responded. They were all locked in a room somewhere in the reactor. It must have been some kind of lounge. A vending machine still stood in one corner. Too heavy to bother with, apparently, but other than that the room was vacant of furniture. Cloud had no idea how long they had been in here, but it seemed like hours. He had spent the time pacing by the door, waiting with an eye to perhaps jumping anyone who might enter. But no one had. Cid was sitting on the floor with his back to the wall, puffing on a cigarette. The others were all standing quietly nearby.

"Since it seems likely they're just going to kill us," Nipala responded. "Waiting might be the lesser of two evils."

"I'm kind of curious as to why they haven't already," Red stated.

"Gee, isn't that a happy thought," Cid said.

"Well, perhaps not happy, for us at least, but logical," Red replied. "They're been trying their hardest to keep anyone from finding this site. And we've found it. Knowing that it's here, they can't let us go. The safest thing to do would be to get rid of us."

"Now don't go putting any ideas in their head, okay Red," Cid said. "I say, if they don't want to kill us, I'm not going to argue with them."

"Nor am I," the red beast responded. "But these people aren't stupid. The fact that they haven't killed us yet leads me to believe they have some other use for us."

"And what might that be?" Cid questioned.

"That I do not know," Red replied. "But I suppose it's only a matter of time before we find out."

"I, for one, am perfectly willing to wait," Nipala announced.

Cid crushed out the butt of his cigarette against the wall.

"Damn Spike, you're even more impatient than I am. Can't you stop that incessant pacing for just a..."

He was interrupted by a muffled rumbling explosion.

"What the hell was that?" he said, frowning.

No one answered, just stood there looking at one another. Cloud didn't know much about reactors, but that didn't sound like some kind of normal occurrence.

They heard another one, then three more in rapid succession, the last one sounding much closer.

"Somethings going on," Cloud stated, rather anticlimactically.

He stopped pacing and stood by the door. They heard shouting outside, and running feet.

"Sounds like some kind of attack, which is probably a good sign for us," Red commented.

"Do you think someone's trying to rescue us?" Nipala said hopefully.

"Unlikely," Red responded. "No one knows where we are, and Cait can't transmit a signal this far underground."

"Reeve?" Nipala suggested, obviously anxious to cling to her theory.

Red paused for a moment.

"Not impossible, but again, it seems unlikely. Whatever's going on, it seems to be something big, too big for one person to have caused."

"Maybe he went back and got help," Nipala tried again.

They heard another explosion. This time they felt the vibration in the floor. Some dust dislodged from the ceiling.

"I'm not exactly sure how long we've been in here," Red said. "But if my estimate is accurate, he could not have gone back and returned in the time that has elapsed."

"You're determined that we don't get rescued, aren't you?" Cid snapped.

"Not at all," Red replied. "I'm merely stating the facts."

"Well, my facts say that I don't give a damn what's happening, or who caused it," Cid replied. "All I know is, this might be our chance to get out of here."

"Even so, we can't get out if we can't open the door," Nipala reminded him.

"Yeah," Cloud agreed, stepping over and looking at the door. "But we didn't try to break it down because we knew that would attract attention. But with them distracted, no one might notice."

They all looked at him.

"You're right," Cid exclaimed, getting to his feet. "Let's do it!"

He came over and stood beside Cloud. The were just about to throw themselves at the door, when it opened on it's own.

Cloud reacted instantly, lunging forward before it was even fully open. He reached out, feeling his hand grab hold of someone and pulled the man in, bringing his other hand back in a fist.

But his punch was unnecessary.

"Reeve!" Nipala exclaimed.

They all stopped. In Clouds grip indeed stood the ex-Shinra executive, looking considerably disheveled, but uninjured.

"Reeve!" Cloud repeated. "How did you find us? What's going on? Are your responsible for those explosions?"

"No time now," Reeve spoke for the first time. "We have to get out of here!"

The others didn't need any coaxing. Reeve pulled out of Cloud's grip, swinging the door open the rest of the way. He turned and led them out of their prison. There was no one in the corridor, but they could still hear explosions. They seemed to be fading away now, however.

Reeve stopped in front of the next room.

"Your weapons are in there," he stated. "Hurry up."

The others quickly retrieved their weapons, though there was no sign of their materia. When they were done Reeve ran down the hallway, the others right behind him.

"What's going on?" Cloud said as they ran.

"I'm not sure," Reeve replied. "I did a little bit of sabotage, but not enough to cause this. Something else is going on. I have no idea what, but it's doing a helluva better job than what I did. Everyone was running for their lives. No one paid any attention to me at all."

Cloud wondered just what it was that was going on. Seemed a strange coincidence something like this would happen while they were here. Could it be that the other members of Avalanche, or perhaps the Turks, had somehow found out where they were?

The had been running for a few minutes now. Occasionly they saw someone else as they ran through the maze of corridors, but as Reeve had said, none of them paid any attention to the escapees. They came another turn and Reeve suddenly stopped, looking around slowly.

"What?" Cloud said, setting himself into battle stance.

Reeve didn't answer for a moment.

"This corridor doesn't look familiar," he said finally.

"Doesn't look..." Cid said behind them. "You mean you're lost?"

"No," Reeve said quickly. "Well, maybe. C'mon, back this way. I'm sure we're close."

"Oh great," Cid muttered as the turned back the way they came.

Reeve walked down the corridor, then turned right into a hallway he had passed before. Cloud looked around anxiously. They had passed through dozens of corridors. The place was huge. Who knows how long it would take them to find their way out of here just wandering around at random? He had a feeling they didn't have time for that. Something was going on. Something very bad, obviously, from the way people were fleeing. He had a feeling they needed to get out of here as fast as possible.

Reeve stopped in front of a door and looked in the room. It was filled with machinery, most of it destroyed. They could see three or four bodies in the room.

"You're little sabotage didn't do that, did it?" Nipala questioned.

Reeve shook his head.

They were about to turn away when they heard a groan issue from underneath a mass of machinery. Looking in, they could see a leg protruding from the wreckage.

Nipala immediately padded over to the man.

"Someone's still alive," she announced. "Help me move this."

The others filed into the room, Cloud a bit reluctantly. They had to get out of here. He didn't know why, but he felt time was of the essence. He wasn't sure they had time to help a man who could only be their enemy.

Nevertheless, he only paused for a moment.

The man groaned again as the others pulled the machinery off him. The man was wearing a long white lab coat, speckled with his blood now from a gash in his arm.

"Are you all right?" Nipala questioned.

The man looked at them all for a moment. Cloud wasn't sure whether he hesitated because he was disoriented or because of the peculiar looking group that surrounded him. Nevertheless, when he answered, he seemed coherent enough.

"I think I'll live."

He sat up, then slowly got to his feet. There was a tear in his pants, and his hand came down to rub his leg, but he seemed remarkably well preserved considering the large piece of machinery he had been trapped under.

"Do you know what's going on?" Cid asked.

Calin nodded, making sure to keep his face neutral. He had recognized the members of Avalanche as soon as they had pulled the machinery off him. So they had escaped. Well, that wasn't any concern of his now anyway. He was actually glad in a way. From what he heard, they had treated Amanda well.

He looked down at the floor.

Almost immediately he looked up again, realizing they were waiting for an answer.

"We infused President Gram with mako," he began.

Cloud frowned.

"President Gram?" he blurted out.

Calin looked at him in surprise.

"The President Gram from the southern continent?" Cid said slowly. "I thought he was killed in the explosion that blew up the Presidential Palace. Did he escape somehow?"

Now it was Calin's turn to frown.

"You are mistaken," he said. "President Gram is a woman."

Cloud stood there for a moment, then his eyes slowly widened.

"A woman!" he snapped. "Young? Blonde hair. Purple eyes?"

"Yes," Calin agreed.

Cloud turned to look at the others.

"Wisteria!"

The word came out explosively.

"Wisteria?" Cait said, assessing his data bank. "President Gram's daughter. The girl who tried to seduce Cloud. Who Tifa threw through a..."

"Plate glass window," Cloud finished for him. "Yes, I know! You don't have to remind me."

"Shit," Cid muttered.

Cloud turned to Calin.

"Infused her with Mako, you say. Why?"

His tone of voice left no doubt he was expecting an immediate answer.

"To achieve what Hojo tried to do with Dr. Nathan's wife. To create a being who could use mako energy to cast spells without using materia."

The others fell suddenly silent.

"And we succeeded," he continued. "But she attempted it too soon. I wasn't ready. All the tests hadn't been completed. The infusion was a success, but I'm afraid it cost her her mind. It's left her unbalanced, thinking she's a god, thinking she can do whatever she wants. And it's true, the power she has is indeed godlike."

The others looked at one another.

"But?" Cid said. "I'm hoping there's a 'but' here."

"But she overestimates herself," Calin replied. "The spells she's using have a similar effect on her body that casting spells with normal materia does. Each spell cast saps some of her strength. It may be less than with normal materia, but it happens. At full strength she's probably unstoppable, but if she expends enough energy, if she gets tired, she'll reach a point where she won't be able to cast anymore spells, and then she'll be vulnerable."

Cloud turned away, his face pale.

"We've got to go, we've got to go," Cloud muttered. "She's got to be heading to Ifalnia. She's got to be after Tifa. I knew I shouldn't have left them there alone."

"Cloud, calm down," Red said. "We don't even know that she even knows where Tifa is."

"I'm sure she does," he said. "She's not stupid. She set this whole thing up. This whole Vangaurd thing. It's all part of her scheme to get back at us, to get back at Avalanche and the northern continents. I should have know!"

"Cloud, snap out of it!" Cid exclaimed.

Suddenly the sound of alarms blared around them.

"Now what?" Cid snapped.

Calin looked up.

"That's the alarm for the reactor," he said. "It's sounds when there's an overload. It means if we don't do something, the reactor will go critical and explode. She must have done something to it."

"Umm," Reeve said slowly. "Could that be caused by a loss of coolant?"

Calin swiveled his way.

"A loss of coolant. Yes, of course, why do you ask?"

Reeve looked contritely at the others.

"You know that sabotage that I mentioned earlier..."

"You didn't!" Cid said.

Reeve nodded.

"That would be it."

For a moment now one spoke.

"So what can we do to stop it?" Cloud questioned practically.

Calin looked around.

"You see the main control panel in front of you," he said, indicating the burnt out hulk of machinery in the center of the room. "I guess it wouldn't surprise anyone for me to say that we can't use it."

"Aren't there any alternate controls?" Cid asked.

Calin shook his head.

"Everything was controlled from here," he replied. "President Gram had a thing about security. She wanted all the controls in one place."

"So what the hell do we do then?" Cid snapped. "Run?"

"We can't outrun it," Calin replied with a shake of his head. "if the reactor explodes, it'll make a hole halfway from Costa del Sol to Corel. We'll have to shut it down manually."

"So how do we do that?" Red asked.

"Someone has to go into the core and remove the mako by hand," Calin said. "But whoever does that will be exposed to massive amounts of mako."

"Enough to kill them?" Reeve asked.

"I don't know, no one's ever been stupid enough to try it," Calin said. "Probably."

"Shit," Cid growled.

Cloud was pacing back and forth, hardly listening. All he knew was he had to get to Ifalnia, he had to get back to Tifa.

"So there's a chance they might survive?" Red said.

"A chance," Calin replied, though his voice made it clear he didn't believe it.

"I'll do it."

They all turned to look at Cait.

"I'm not human," he said. "It's not going to kill me."

"That's right!" Nipala said.

"Perhaps not," Red said. "But the heat could destroy your circuits. If it burns out your memory, we'll lose you."

"I'm willing to take the chance," Cait replied. "What other choice is there?"

There was none, and they all knew it. They just needed someone to say that, but no one spoke. They needed someone to make a decision. Now.

"Do it!" Cloud snapped. "Cid, you stay here with them. They might need your mechanical skills. Maybe you can piece this control panel back together. Calin, do you know the way out of here?"

"Left out the corridor. First right, then second left will take you right to the main entrance," he said, while Cid looked dubiously at the control panel.

"All right, the rest of you. Let's go!"

He ran out, hardly noticing the others following him, or the looks they gave him. But no one said anything. If he was being irrational, they could certainly understand it.

Cloud didn't care how they felt. All he was thinking about was Tifa. He had to get to Ifalnia. But even if he got out of here, he still had problems. They had no transportation. The Slipstream was back in Corel. Miles away. He couldn't run all the way to Ifalnia. He'd have to find something in the nearest town, probably Costa del Sol, but who knew how long that would take.

He didn't know whether Wisteria had any transportation either. But he suspected she did. He didn't see any way that he could beat her to Ifalnia, or even get there soon after.

Of course, he thought as he ran, he could be totally wrong. She could have some other motivation, some other plan in mind. But he didn't think so. Either way he couldn't take the chance. He'd only feel better when he had Tifa safely in his arms.

He recognized the light ahead of him as daylight. He must be nearing the entrance.

He came around a turn, doubling his speed when he saw the tunnel end in a wide opening. He ran out into the daylight to see what looked like some kind of quarry in front of him.

"Cloud!"

He turned around and saw the others had stopped.

"It's Vincent and Elena!" Reeve called out. "They're hurt!"

Cloud ran back to them. Vincent and Elena lay on the ground by the side of the tunnel. Cloud could immediately see that both of them were hurt badly. Vincent lay unmoving on the ground, a large gash across his head. Elena was conscious, but he could see right away that her arm was broken, among other things.

"Cloud, you ran right past me," she blurted out as he came up. "Didn't you hear me call you?"

"Sorry, I had other things on my mind," he replied.

"What happened?" Red asked.

Elena quickly explained their confrontation with Wisteria.

"Vincent is hurt bad," she finished. "Do you have any materia?"

"No we don't," Cid replied. "They took it all when they captured us."

Red was examining Vincent as they spoke.

"Even with it, he's still going to need medical attention," was his verdict.

"But how can we get him out of here?" Elena said, distraught.

No one said anything.

"My cell phone. My materia," Elena said. "They're around here somewhere. See if you can find them."

The others fanned out, searching through the debris strewn tunnel. Cloud was almost frantic. Another delay! He could hardly stand it, but it seemed there was nothing he could do. He kept thinking back to when Jenovas riders were after Tifa. They had barely reached her in time that time. Would he be as lucky this time? True, Tifa wasn't alone this time. She had Aeris with her. But how much help could Aeris be? She wasn't the best fighter in tbe bunch, but then again, she had surprised him in the past. And Tifa certainly couldn't fight, in her condition. From what Calin had told them, even if Tifa was in perfect fighting condition, she and Aeris alone still wouldn't have much of a chance. Wisteria had already taken out Vincent and Elena, apparently without too much trouble.

As if by magic, a sudden beeping alerted them to the presence of the cell phone.

"Here it is!" Reeve said, snatching something off the ground. He put it to his ear.

"Hello? No, it's Reeve. Reeve. It's a long story. Elena and Vincent are hurt. We need to get them to a hospital. I told you, it's a long story. Can you help us? Uh huh. I see. That would be great. We're...it looks like a quarry."

"We're about two hours west of Costa del Sol," Elena said.

"Two hours west of Costa del Sol," Reeve repeated. "Yeah, that's right. Okay. Hurry!"

He shut off the phone then brought it over to Elena.

"That was Reno," he said. "He, Rude, Yuffie and Lai Li are on their way. They've got a helicopter."

"Really," Elena said, visibly relieved. "Great."

"How long until they get here?" Cloud snapped.

"Not sure," Reeve replied. "Since they're not exactly sure where we are. They're just outside Gongaga. Probably couple of hours."

A couple of hours. That wasn't good enough. It gave Wisteria too much time. It would be too late.

"I can't wait," he said.

"What other choice do you have?" Reeve said in surprise.

"I can go to Costa del Sol," Cloud replied. "I can get a gold chocobo. They're usually got one or two there."

"But it took Vincent and Elena two hours to get here," Reeve said. "By the time you reached Costa del Sol, the helicopter will be here."

"Yeah, walking," Cloud pointed out. "If I run I can cover that distance in half that time, maybe less."

"I think it might be better to wait," Red began.

"I don't give a damn what you think," Cloud snapped. "I'm going!"

And with that he turned and started to run off.

"Wait!" Reeve shouted. He ran after Cloud.

Cloud paused for a moment and looked back.

"I don't have time.." he began.

"I'll come with you," Reeve said.

For a moment Cloud just looked at him.

"You're worried about Aeris?"

Reeve nodded.

"Fine."

Without another word he started off again. As Reeve chased after him he looked back one more time.

"But if you fall behind," he called out. "Don't expect me to wait up."


	15. Time to Get Out of Dodge

CHAPTER XV

TIME TO GET OUT OF DODGE

"What exactly is a friend? It seems like a simple enough question. Most people know who their friends are. Or, at least, they think they do. A friend is someone you can depend on, someone who will come to your aid in times of trouble. To put it simply, a friend is someone you can trust."

Gilan Bradford stepped from behind the lectern and looked at the people who filled the pews in front of him.

"But sometimes we give trust to people who don't deserve it. I'm sure you've all had an experience like that, with someone who you thought was your friend who, when the chips were down, you found out wasn't as much of a friend as you hoped."

"And this is with our own kind. Obviously, we know ourselves, our own species, better than anyone, or anything else. Yet, even though we know ourselves so well, we still find that there are people out there who can deceive us. Maybe we don't know ourselves as well as we think."

"And if we don't know ourselves, how can we expect to know the motives of another species?"

"I'm sure no one will disagree with me when I say that who you trust and who you don't trust can have a major impact on your life. At it's worst, trusting the wrong person can result in disaster for you. I can ruin your life. Admittedly that's the worst case. Most of the time the worst that happens is you learn a hard lesson and move on with you life."

"But, unfortunately, when it's comes to trusting another species, the stakes are higher. When you're betrayed by a human, you yourself have been betrayed. When you are betrayed by another species, the entire human race is betrayed, and the entire human race can suffer for it."

Gilan looked down at the faces in front of him. He saw that, as usual, all eyes were upon him.

"So, the question we have to answer is, are the Cetra our friends?"

He stopped down and looked right at a young man in the front row.

"Can they be trusted?"

He stood up again.

"I admit that at first glance, you might be tempted to say yes. One could make an argument that they've helped us. That they've done a lot of good. The Cetra came here thousands of years ago, but some records do survive. Most of those records indicate that the Cetra aided us. They taught us how to build and grow food more efficiently. They used their healing powers on our sick. And especially, they joined with us in the fight against Jenova. When they first came here humans were savages. Our civilization was in it's infancy. The Cetra were far superior, yet they did not try to dominate us. If they were here as conquerors, surely they would have conquered us then. Does that not prove, indeed, that they are our friends?"

"But if you look at it more deeply, if you look at the truth, the picture becomes much less clear."

"Yes, the Cetra came here thousands of years ago. Yes, our civilization was young then. But even at their height, the Cetra population on this planet was never very large, at least, not compared to the human population. Yes, they were far superior technologically. Yes, they could have killed thousand, maybe millions of us in a war of conquest, but even so they were so outnumbered that victory was far from assured. A war against humans would have been long and bloody with no certain outcome. The Cetra knew they couldn't afford that."

"And they couldn't afford that because of Jenova."

"When the Cetra first came here we were awed. The humans who first met them thought of them as gods. We have learned since that they are far from that. But even a short time ago many humans saw something noble in the Cetra. To many humans they weren't quite gods, but still far superior to us, and not just technologically, but morally."

"And yet, since that time we have discovered that the Cetra were far from perfect. We have learned that it was the Cetra, in fact, who through their own folly released the scourge that is Jenova upon the universe. We've found that Jenova was in fact, created genetically by the Cetra."

"Which, I might point out, was never disclosed to us by the Cetra themselves. They kept that information from us."

"Although that is a hint that perhaps they are not the friends they claim to be, I suppose that is forgivable. After all, no one likes to disclose their personal failings to others, even if the other person is your friend."

"And if that were the only reason they have shown that they are not as trustworthy as they claim, I wouldn't be so concerned."

"But I'm afraid it's not."

"As I mentioned before, when the Cetra came here their technology was far in advance of ours. A lot of the things they did we still haven't obtained, and my question is, why not?"

"The Cetra showed us rudimentary building and farming skills. But why didn't they give us more? The buildings outside were made by the Cetra. We don't know how to make buildings like that. Why not? Why didn't the Cetra teach us? The Cetra could heal our sick, but did they ever teach us how to do it ourselves? The Cetra had space travel, but did they ever give us the secrets of that? Why is it that they came here in a spaceship thousands of years ago and yet we have only just recently taken our first steps into space ourselves?"

"If the Cetra were truly our friends, wouldn't they have shared that information? If you had information or skills that you knew could help a friend, wouldn't you share that with them? Isn't that what friendship is all about?"

He looked up and held up his hand.

"Oh, I've heard the arguments before. We weren't ready for that kind of information. A race has to progress at it's own pace. The Cetra were merely trying not to interfere with human development."

"Yet by coming here, interfering with human development is exactly what they did."

"When the Cetra first arrived here, they were not a noble race filled with good intentions."

"No, they were a desperate race on the verge of extinction, running from a menace of their _own_ creation, that had already taken their homeworld from them."

Gilan let his hands slip behind his back as he walked back to stand beside the lectern.

"Look at it from their point of view. Almost their entire race had been destroyed in the war against Jenova. They shoot off into space in a desperate attempt to save whatever they can of their civilization. And where do they end up? On a planet with a budding civilization. Not very far advanced, but with a large population. In other words, a civilization that can be easily impressed with Cetra knowledge, and also large enough to make a difference in the war against Jenova."

"And make no mistake, the Cetra knew Jenova would come. They knew Jenova would stop at nothing to wipe out the last remanents of the Cetra civilization. And of course, they were desperate to prevent that."

"No, the Cetra didn't dare make war against us. They _needed_ us. We were the only thing that stood between them and final extinction. It would have been to their advantage to make us as technologically advanced as they could. The more advanced we were, the better an ally we would be in the coming war with Jenova."

"And yet, they still held back. Even though it was obviously to their benefit to give us their secrets. And if you think about it, I mean, really think about it, there's only reason they could have for that."

"Even though it would have been to their benefit for us to be their technological equal in the fight against Jenova, they didn't want that. They didn't want us to be their equal. Because they knew that once we were their equal, they would have no more sway over us. Because they did have plans of conquest, they just couldn't carry them out as long as the threat of Jenova hung over them."

"And now you might say I'm jumping to conclusions that are not born out by the facts. That I'm being ridiculous, even. But let's just stop and look for a minute at the _facts_ about how the Cetra have conducted themselves in their interactions with other species."

"The Chadara would be a good example, for the circumstances of their interaction with the Cetra mirror our own. Both were young races, both technologically inferior to the Cetra, yet both well on their way to making their mark, at least on their homeworld, before the Cetra appeared. Like us, the Chadara too were recruited in the Cetra's fight against Jenova, a fight they really had no part of. If the Cetra hadn't gone to Grouchoon and talked the Chadara into helping them, for all we know Jenova might have completely ignored them."

"But they didn't. The Cetra used their technological and intellectual superiority to convince the Chadara to help them fight Jenova, and what was the result?"

"The result was the Chadara became a target for Jenova as well. The result was that Jenova came to their world. Came to their world and enslaved them for over _two thousand years_."

"Who can say how far the Chadara might have advanced on their own in that time. Who's to say how far they might have come. Who's to say that even now, even after the threat of Jenova has been removed, they can ever recover from this setback. No one can know the answer to those questions. But one thing we can know, without doubt, and that is that the Cetra, for all their talk, did not help the Chadara. That they were in fact, just as responsible for what happened to the Chadara as Jenova, if not more so."

He stopped and looked around for a moment.

"I don't think any man or woman here would question the truth of that."

"And then of course, there's Jenova itself."

"Again, I don't think anyone would question the truth of the statement that the Cetra treated Jenova less than graciously. In fact, I think abominably would be closer to the truth. The Cetra _created_ Jenova. They used their scientific know how to try to play god. They failed, and they couldn't live with that. Jenova wasn't even a separate species, it was their own flesh and blood. Yet even so, because Jenova didn't come out the wonderful being that had been expecting, they tried to shove it under the rug, they tried to wipe it out of existence, merely because it didn't live up to the standards they had expected."

Gilan shook his head in disgust.

"If a race can treat it's own like that, how you expect any better when they are dealing with another species entirely?"

"No, from the Cetra's own track record, it's obvious they can't be trusted. Sure they helped us, but they only helped us for their own benefit. Some people say that they helped us fight Jenova, but the reality is it's the other way around. We helped them fight Jenova. Every other race the Cetra have encountered they've treated with nothing but disdain. It would be folly for us to think they'll treat us any differently. In all the crucial tests of whether they are trustworthy, they've failed."

Gilan paced back and forth in front of the lectern. No one else said a word. No one fidgeted or looked bored. Though the church was packed with people, he seemed to have the rapt attention of every single one of them.

"And yet you might say, so what? All that happened thousands of years ago. The threat of Jenova had ended, and the Cetra are gone too, or just about. What difference does it make if the Cetra can be trusted. They can't cause any trouble anymore."

"But can't they? Look around you. There is only one Cetra left, yet she has a whole city to command. There is only a single Cetra left on the planet, yet Cetra religion and ways are flourishing. The Cetra may have lost most of their technological edge, but a lot of people are still foolish enough to believe in their alleged moral superiority. A lot of people are following Cetra ways. A lot of people don't see their flaws, or the danger. The Cetra talk of helping the planet, of being healers, of bringing people together. But to those of us with eyes to see, those of us who have looked back at their history, we see a different story. We see an arrogant race. A race convinced of their superiority to all others. The Cetra are not a force for good. On the contrary, if allowed to continue, if allowed to spread, their philosophy will contaminate the human race, and in the end, make us just as bad as they were. Does anyone here want that to happen?"

For a moment no one spoke. Someone near the back spoke out loudly in the negative. A chorus of no's followed.

"Of course not," Gilan said. "No one does. From what you can see here in this very city, I think it's obvious how much influence even one Cetra can have. Someone has to speak out about that, someone has to stem the tide. and I've done what I can."

"And a fine job you've done," he heard. The same voice that had been the first to agree with his earlier statement.

Gilan nodded in response.

"But unfortunately, it hasn't been enough," he continued. "The Cetra continues to make inroads here in Ifalnia, even as I fight against her as best I can, but now I have word that she has even more ambitious plans."

Gilan paused, letting that sink in for a moment.

"I have it on good authority that the Cetra is planning on expanding her church to other cities," he said simply.

He paused again to gauge the audiences reaction and was pleased to hear a murmur of discontent.

"Yes, Kalm, Icicle Inn and Rocket Town might soon have a Cetra church as well. And my question is, why?"

"Why should the Cetra need to expand her church? She's just one person. I can understand here in Ifalnia, in the ancient home of the Cetra. The ancient home of her people. It makes sense for her to have a church here, even if I personally don't agree. But these other towns? Why there? The Cetra did not live in those places. She already has this city, why would she need churches in any others?"

"And the answer of course, the only answer, is that she feels she has done what she can here in the City of the Ancients, and is now trying to expand Cetra influence. She is the only Cetra left here. Yet she's just like the rest. Her arrogance tells her that the Cetra way is the right way, the only right way. So she's doing everything she can to make this world more like her own, make _us_ more like her own, like the Cetra. Does anyone here want that?"

This time there was no hesitation. The no's were loud and immediate.

"Does anyone here now think the Cetra came here with noble intentions?"

Again the no's rang out.

Gilan nodded, then bowed his head.

"With the knowledge that the Cetra is going to expand her influence the situation has reached the crisis point. I've said I've done all I could but I can't stop her. I need help."

He looked up.

"I need your help."

For a moment there was silence once again.

"What do you want us to do?" someone called out.

Gilan did not reply for a moment, just stood there looking at them all, and to everyone there, he seemed with just a glance to make eye contact with every person in the room.

"I don't consider myself a violent man," he said slowly. "I don't condone violence, but on the other hand, I realize that there are times when violence might be the only answer."

"Self defense, for instance. You have a perfect right to defend yourself. No one would blame you for being violent under those conditions, if someone attacked you."

"And in a way, that is exactly what is happening here. The Cetra are attacking us. The Cetra are attacking the human race. It may not be open violence, but if we don't do something about it the results will be just the same, the defeat of the human race. There's much more at stake here than honor, or pride, or even life itself. We're talking about nothing less than the fate of humanity. I don't know about you, but I'm proud of what I am, I'm proud to be a human. And I'll do anything in my power, _anything_, to protect that."

This time there was a chorus of agreement.

"Like I said, I've tried to stem the tide, I've tried to fight the Cetra on her own terms, with words. I'm sorry to say I'm not up to the task. Perhaps no one would be. The Cetra are just too clever. No, words aren't going to work. We need more than that now. I don't suggest this lightly, but I don't think we have any choice anymore. We _must not_ let the Cetra expand to other cities. It's clear she's not going to listen to reason. I'm afraid the time for talk is over. Now it's time for action."

There were more yells of agreement. Some of the men stood up. The place seemed to be in a frenzy, which was just what Gilan had been shooting for.

"What should we do?" a large bearded man shouted.

"We have to go to the Cetra church," Gilan replied. "We have to go there and tell the Cetra we will not tolerate an expansion to other cities. We must tell her, in fact, that she must close down the church she has here. We must tell her that all humans reject Cetra ways, that this is our planet, and we're not going to let her take it from us."

Again, there was a frenzied chorus of agreement.

"We've got to stop it, and we've got to stop it here. Now!" Gilan continued. "We're not going to listen to anymore of her talk. We're not going to be deceived by her words. We're not going to be weak. The Church of Ifalnia must be closed, or destroyed. This isn't about a difference of opinion, this is about saving humanity, it's about everything we hold dear. So come, my children, let us confront the Cetra. Do not fear her. She can do you no harm, for we have right on our side!"

With that he stepped down off the dias. Head held high, he walked proudly down the aisle of the church and out the front door, his flock right behind.

* * *

"Where do you want these petunias?"

Aeris looked over to see Tifa kneeling in front of one of the trays of flowers that had just arrived at the church. She smiled.

"What?" Tifa said.

"Those are daffodils, silly." She indicated another tray. "These are petunias."

Tifa looked down at the plants in front of her, then look up again and shrugged. She had never made any claims to being a horticulturist.

"Okay then, daffodils. Where do you want them?"

Aeris looked around for a moment, then pointed to the left.

"Mix them in with that bed of clover over there," she said.

Tifa nodded, picking up the tray and carrying it over. She dropped down on her knees again, then, small spade in hand, began digging a hole for the first one.

Aeris looked at her for a moment.

"You don't have to do this you know," she said.

"Do what?" Tifa questioned without looking up.

"Help me plant flowers," Aeris replied.

"Why wouldn't I?" Tifa returned. "Otherwise I'd just be sitting around doing nothing. And we all know how boring that can be."

"Yeah, I know, but you're okay right? You're not going to strain yourself?"

Tifa looked up.

"Please. Don't get like Cloud on me," she exclaimed. "I may be pregnant, but that doesn't mean I'm going to keel over from exhaustion from a little bit of manual labor. I'm fine Aeris. If I need a rest, I'll take one, okay?"

Aeris looked contrite.

"Okay, sorry."

"Ah, that's all right," Tifa replied. "Actually, I'm having a good time. We've had a lot of fun together these past few days, haven't we?"

Aeris looked at her friend for a moment, then nodded. It was true. She thought they'd talked more these last few days than they had in the whole time they'd known each other before that. She had to admit it felt good. All her life, she had never had anyone she could confide in. All her life she had never really had any close friends. She had always had other things on her mind. When she was very young, of course, she had been a prisoner of Hojo. And after she and her mother had escaped, she had always been pursued. The Turks had never been far away. And besides that, she had been different from the other kids. They had known that as much as she. Somehow she had never really managed to fit in, had never really managed to make a connection with anyone. She wasn't sure who's fault that was. Her only real friend she had had growing up had been both her mothers.

"Yes we have, haven't we," she said slowly. "I'm glad you decided to stay here with me Tifa."

"I am too," Tifa replied, returning to her gardening. But she was only at it a moment before she stopped. She help up a small green plant.

"Hey look, a four leaf clover," she announced.

"Lucky for you," Aeris replied.

"Let's hope so," Tifa replied. She looked down at it for a moment. She didn't really believe it would give her good luck, but hey, it certainly couldn't hurt.

"You know, I wonder..." she began.

She was interrupted by the ringing of her PHS. It was on one of the pews by her pocketbook. She sighed.

"I'll get it," Aeris said, hoping up nimbly. She stepped over to the pew and picked up the PHS.

"Hello?"

She listened for a moment, then turned to Tifa.

It's Red, she mouthed.

"Uh huh," she continued as Tifa lifted herself to her feet, much more slowly than Aeris had.

"You're where?" Aeris continued. "We have to what? What do you mean, leave? Red, I don't...Who? Wisteria?"

Tifa frowned.

"What?" she said.

Aeris gave her friend a puzzled look. She held out the PHS.

"Maybe you better talk to him," she said.

Tifa quickly walked over and took the PHS from the young Cetra.

"Red?"

"Hi Tifa. Listen, we found the reactor..."

"You did? That's great."

"Listen to me. That's not important now," Red said quickly. "You and Aeris have to get out of there."

"Out of here? What are you talking about?"

"Please, do not interrupt," Red said sharply. "It's a long story. Remember Wisteria, from the southern continent?"

So it _had_ been her name Tifa had heard Aeris say.

"How could I forget," she said, hoping Red wouldn't consider that interrupting.

"Well, she's here. She's the President of Vanguard. She's probably behind all the trouble lately. She had a mako reactor built secretly underground in the forest near Costa del Sol. She used the reactor to infuse herself with mako. And now she can use materia spells without any materia. She has tremendous power."

"What?" Tifa said, forgetting Red's admonishment not to interrupt. "You mean like Amanda could?"

"Exactly," Red replied. "But she's gone crazy. The infusion has caused her to lose he sanity. But that just makes her more dangerous. Cloud thinks shes after you, that she's coming there."

Tifa just stood there for a moment, hardly believing what she was hearing. Wisteria was here? She was infused with mako? What the hell was going on?

"You think she's coming here? For revenge? But, how would she even know where I am?"

"Cloud seems to think she knows," Red replied. "He and Reeve are on their way, but it's going to take them a while to get there. He's afraid she'll get there before him."

Tifa nodded, feeling relief from the fact that Cloud was on his way, no matter how long it would take him to get here. She wasn't sure what to make of the rest. Wisteria hadn't been much of a fighter. Tifa had knocked her through the window without much trouble. But if what Red was saying was true, if she had Amanda's power, she could be much more dangerous.

"So what do you want us to do?" she asked.

"I think it would be wise if both you and Aeris got out of there as fast as you could."

"Out of here?" Tifa said. "You want us to run?"

"That would seem to be the prudent thing to do," Red answered. "Please don't take this too lightly Tifa. Wisteria is extremely dangerous. Calin thinks that none of us are a match for her at full strength."

"Calin?"

"The scientist who infused her," Red replied. "But that's not important. The important thing is, he doesn't think you and Aeris by yourselves can stand against her, and I would tend to agree with that assessment. She's already taken on Vincent and Elena and beaten them pretty convincingly."

"Vincent and Elena? Are they hurt?"

"I'm fine," she heard Elena's voice.

"No she's not," Red contradicted. "She's got a broken arm and possibly some other injuries. And Vincent is seriously hurt."

"Seriously hurt?" Tifa said slowly. "How bad is he?"

"We don't know at the moment," Red answered, which in no way allayed Tifa sudden fear. "Reno and Rude are on their way in a helicopter. We'll be taking him to a hospital in Costa del Sol, and then be on our way to Ifalnia. But Cloud and Reeve should get there ahead of us."

"Are they in the Slipstream?"

"No, unfortunately, it's back at Corel. They're going to Costa del Sol to try to find a gold chocobo, or some other water crossing fowl."

"I see," Tifa said. "So how long do you think it will be before they get here?"

"There's no way I can tell," Red replied. "If all goes well, and they find a bird quickly, I'd say the fastest they can be there is another hour and a half, two hours."

"But if we leave, how will you find us? Where should we go?"

"I don't know," Red said. "Icicle Inn maybe. But if she doesn't find you in Ifalnia, that might be the first place she looks. You'll have to use your own judgement. I'm sure we'll be able to find you eventually. The important thing is to get out there as soon as you can. It doesn't really matter to where."

"But.."

"Please Tifa, we don't know what kind of transportation she has. She could be there at any time. I don't think you have time to stand here and discuss this. You have to get out of there. Now."

Tifa hesitated a moment.

"All right, I understand," she said finally.

"We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Okay. Bye Red."

"Goodbye, and hurry."

Tifa let the PHS drop to her side. She looked at Aeris.

"We have to leave," she said slowly.

"Yeah, I got the drift," Aeris replied, her face filled with concern. "Wisteria. That's the girl from the southern continent, right? I remember you talking about her once."

"Yeah," Tifa replied. "She's the President of Vanguard, and the others thing she's behind all the trouble we've been having. She's infused herself with mako and now can cast materia spells without materia. The others think she's coming here, that she's after me."

"In that case, I guess we better go," Aeris said, pulling off her gardening gloves and dropping them on a tray.

"I suppose," Tifa said slowly.

Aeris looked at her.

"What, you don't think you should?"

Tifa hesitated. It was hard to think of Wisteria as a formidable enemy. She had to keep telling herself this was an improved version.

"I guess they're right," she said. "From what Red told me, she's much more dangerous than she was when we first met. But the others are coming here. How will they find us if we run off. Ifalnia is a big city, maybe it would be best to hide here somewhere. Even if she comes, she can't search everyone. She won't have time. Cloud and Reeve can't be too far behind her."

"We can always call them and tell them where we are," Aeris said quite logically. "If Red thinks it best we leave, then I'd tend to follow his advice."

"I guess so," Tifa nodded. "But will it be okay for you to leave? What about Gilan and the Church of Humanity? Do you think they'll cause any trouble?"

Aeris looked thoughtful for a moment, then she shrugged.

"We can't worry about everything," she replied. "The Church of Humanity hasn't done anything but talk so far. I'd say Wisteria is the greater danger right now. Let's just take care of one thing at a time."

Tifa nodded. It made sense.

"So where do we go then?"

"I'm not sure," Aeris replied. "Let's just get our things together. We can figure it out on the way."

"All right," Tifa agreed.

Aeris picked up the Princess Guard from where it had been leaning against one of the pews and they walked quickly out of the church and turned down the road, headed back to Aeris and Elmyra's house. But they hadn't gone more than a few paces when they saw half a dozen men running down the road toward the church.

"Aeris!" one of them called out.

The two girls stopped. Aeris recognized the man as Talbot, one of her regular parishioners. Tifa looked at Aeris with a puzzled expression, but Aeris hadn't any better idea than her friend what this was all about.

The men came to a stop in front of them. They were all breathing hard, as if they had run a long distance, or a short distance very quickly.

"There's a mob coming from the Church of Humanity," Talbot blurted out.

"What?" Aeris said.

"A mob. From the Church of Humanity," the man repeated. "It looks close to a hundred, and more are joining them as they go. Gilan has them whipped up into a frenzy. They're headed here. It looks like they're looking for a confrontation. They're all shouting about how the Cetra must be stopped and the church of Ifalnia closed down."

Aeris stood there for a moment, looking from Tifa to the men. Talk about bad timing...

"I sent some of the others to gather more people loyal to you. In spite of Gilan's lies, there are still a lot of people who don't agree with tim," Talbot continued. "But I don't know how successful they'll be. They don't have much time."

Still Aeris did not speak. She didn't doubt Talbot's word, but she had a hard time believing this was happening. After all this time, she had thought that perhaps the Church of Humanity was all talk. But it appeared now that wasn't the case. If there was a mob coming, if Gilan was leading them here, she would have to face him. She couldn't possibly leave now.

She turned to look at Tifa.

"You go on. I'll catch up with you after I take care of this."

Tifa's eyes widened.

"You want me to leave you here? No way!"

Aeris took a step closer to her friend.

"Tifa, be reasonable. I don't want there to be any trouble, but it sounds like Gilan might not listen to reason. It's too dangerous for you to stay."

"It's no more dangerous than it is for you," Tifa exclaimed. "They're not after me, remember? If it's dangerous then that's all the more reason for me to stay. I'm not going to abandon you when need help the most."

"Tifa, think about the baby! No matter how much you may want to deny it, no matter how much you'd like to think of yourself as the old Tifa, you're still seven months pregnant. If it comes to a fight, just what do you think you're going to do? You have different priorities now!"

Tifa just looked at her friend, stung by the words, although deep down she knew they were true. She just didn't want to admit she wasn't the fighter she was used to being.

Still, there was no way she was going to leave her friend now.

"I don't care," she said slowly. "I told Elmyra and Reeve I'd keep an eye on you, and I intend to do just that."

"You're being ridiculous," Aeris said. "I'm hoping it doesn't come to a fight, but if it does, I don't want to have to worry about you."

"You don't have to worry about me!" Tifa snapped. "I can take care of myself."

"Can you?" Aeris exclaimed. "Look at yourself!"

Tifa resisted the urge to look down. She was perfectly aware of her condition.

"And what if Wisteria shows up?" Aeris continued. "Gilan might be after me, but Wisteria isn't. You can't face her."

Tifa folded her arms across her chest and looked down the road.

"Tifa!"

Tifa just shook her head.

"You're not the only one who can be stubborn," she said.

A man who had been with Talbot stood down by the street corner. Now he turned toward them.

"Here they come!" he called out.

He left the streetcorner and came running toward them.

"What do you want us to do?" Talbot questioned.

Aeris looked at him for a moment. She didn't want Tifa to stay, but things were happening too fast. She didn't have time to think.

"Do? I don't want you to do anything," she said. "I'll take care of this myself."

Talbot looked at her doubtfully.

"Yourself?" he said. "Gilan has a hundred people with him. Maybe more. They're coming to destroy your church. You can't stop them alone. If things get violent we need a plan. We need..."

"Things aren't going to get violent," Aeris said sharply. "At least, not if I can help it. Gilan will listen to reason. He has to."

Talbot stood there for a moment, just looking at her. He looked like he was going to say something, but then changed his mind. He had doubts about what Aeris was saying, but she looked so sure of herself, it allyed his fears.

"Very well," he said slowly. "But just remember, we're here if you need us."

Aeris nodded.

"Just make sure no one does anything stupid," she told him. "I won't tolerate any violence from my supporters."

"Yes ma'am."

There was no more time for talk, for even as he said that, Gilan Bradford strode around the corner ahead of them, followed closely by his supporters.

Tifa stood silently by Aeris side, glad that the issue of her presence had been dropped. Still, she had her doubts about Aeris tactics. The mob behind Gilan looked angry and well organized. It didn't look like they had come here to talk. Tifa didn't want any violence either, but she thought they should at least have some kind of plan in case it did break out. Still, there was no time to discuss anything like that now.

Gilan strode up until he was just a few paces in front of him. The mob behind him filled the street. Talbot had been right, Tifa thought, there had to be hundreds. She glanced behind her to see that Talbot and those with him had formed a line behind her and Aeris, between the mob and the church. There were perhaps twenty five to thirty of them. If it came to a fight, they were sorely outnumbered.

For a moment Gilan and Aeris stood face to face in silence.

"What are you doing here?" Aeris said calmly.

Gilan looked at the church behind her.

"We've come to right a wrong," he proclaimed. "This is a human world. The Cetra have no business here. We know what you're trying to do. We will not accept the Cetra influence. We will not let you take our planet from us."

"I have no intention of taking anyone's planet from them," Aeris said.

"Is that so?" Gilan said. "Then why is there a Cetra church here at all? The Cetra are gone. You are the only one left. Yet Cetra culture dominates this entire city. Why is that? Why is it that one non human has so much influence here?"

"I can't say," Aeris replied. "Perhaps it's the message and not the messenger. Perhaps it's just the fact that all people, no matter what their species, can relate to a church that preaches peace and universal tolerance."

Gilan laughed.

"Ah yes, peace and tolerance. What a wonderful concept. Is that what we can expect from the Cetra? Tell me, is that the same thing you said to Jenova before you tried to destroy it? Is that the same thing you told the Chadara before you brought the wraith of Jenova down upon them? Is that what you told humans when you first came here, even though you were at the very same time preparing for war against Jenova?"

Aeris just stood there for a moment.

"I admit the Cetra had a dark past," she replied. "But everyone makes mistakes. Humans have had more than their share of war as well."

"Yes, but we've never fought against another species. At least, we hadn't until the Cetra came here. And we certainly never attempted genocide against a species like you did with Jenova."

"Aeris didn't do that!" Tifa said suddenly. "All that you say may be true, but it happened thousands of years ago. All those people are gone now. They have nothing to do with what happens now, or with Aeris."

Gilan turned his eye toward her.

"Don't they?" he questioned. "They were Cetra, and she is a Cetra. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"Don't be ridiculous," Tifa said. "Aeris isn't like that. She's never done anything to hurt anyone."

"That may or may not be true," Gilan said. "But tell me, when the Cetra first came here, did they hurt anyone? No, they didn't. They helped us. When Jenova first came here, did it hurt anyone? Not at first. At first it appeared as our friend. The first Jenova didn't turn against us, didn't show it's true colors, until humans refused to hand over the crystal materia. And the second Jenova, the one that came to Gongaga more recently. Did that appear to be an enemy? Not at all. That Jenova helped the people of Gongaga. At least at first. It wasn't called the Healer for nothing. When Ellengio took you out into space, he told us you were going to destroy Jenova, but that wasn't his real intention at all. His real intention was to release his own race from their trap on their homeworld."

He stepped closer, staring right at Tifa.

"The devil has many disguises, and often appears to be a friend at first. But appearances are not always what they seem. We know the Cetra are clever with words. We know they've used their intellect to deceive us before. We know they've withheld the truth from us. With all this evidence against them, how can you be so sure that this Cetra's motives are any different from the others?"

Tifa just stood there. She suddenly felt like she couldn't think. She had to admit that Gilan's argument made a lot of sense.

"I..I don't know," she said hesitantly. "I just know Aeris. And she wouldn't do anything..."

She fell silent.

Aeris suddenly stepped forward, a frown on her face.

"What are you doing to her?" she accused.

Gilan turned toward the Cetra.

"I'm not doing anything to her," he replied. "I'm just telling her the truth."

"No," Aeris said, shaking her head. "There's more to it than that. You're influencing her." She looked around. "You're influencing all of them...somehow."

Gilan smiled.

"Don't be ridiculous," he replied. "I am merely opening their eyes to the truth. I'm not influencing them, I'm removing all influence."

"No, that's not true," Aeris said, now taking a step toward Gilan, staring at him. "I feel something. Something coming from you. What are you doing?"

Gilan turned and looked back at those behind him.

"Hear the power of the truth," he called out. "She can't refute my arguments, so she resorts to some kind of 'magical influence' to explain it. Is this not the last refuge of the desperate? Does this not prove once and for all the truth of my words?"

There were shouts of agreement.

He turned around to face Aeris once again.

"We are not here to talk," he proclaimed. "We've heard enough of your Cetra lies. We demand that you close the church of Ifalnia immediately, never to reopen it's doors. We also demand that you yourself promise never to preach again, or to spread Cetra influence anywhere in the world for the rest of your life."

Tifa looked back and forth between Aeris and Gilan. Her head hurt, and she couldn't seem to think straight. She knew Aeris needed her help, but she couldn't seem to find anything to say. What Gilan said couldn't be true. And his demands were ridiculous, weren't they?

Suddenly a voice shouted from the crowd.

"I say, no more talk, let's take that church down now!"

There was a murmer of assent.

"Even if she agrees, how do we know the Cetra will be true to her word?" another man called out.

"Yes, we know we can't trust them!"

"We've heard enough lies. Let's finish this!"

Gilan turned toward the crowd and held up his hand.

"Let's here first what the Cetra has to say!" he called out.

He turned back and looked at Aeris.

"You yourself said no more talk!" a man suddenly shouted.

There were more angry shouts from the crowd. Suddenly a rock whistled overhead, smashing through one of the windows of the church.

This elicted a response from Aeris supporters. They had been quiet the whole time, but now they stepped forward, shouting angrily themselves. Tifa turned to see that their ranks had swelled a bit, but they were still far outnumbered.

Another rock flew overhead, cracking against the side of the building. A lot of the people in the crowd on both sides had some sort of weapon, and now they held them up menacingly.

"Stop it, all of you!" Aeris shouted.

But no one seemed to be listening anymore. A third rock flew through the air, but this one was not directed at the church. It whizzed right past Aeris head and struck Tifa on the shoulder. With a cry, she fell to her knees.

"Tifa!" Aeris shouted.

She bent down beside her friend, forgetting the crowd around them. Tifa gritted her teeth and clutched her shoulder. It hurt like hell for a few moments, but slowly the pain began to diminish.

"Are you all right?"

Aeris looked up in surprise to see Gilan standing next to them, his face filled with concern.

Tifa rubbed her shoulder as the pain subsided.

"Yes, I'm okay," she said slowly.

She looked up. The air was full of angry shouts now, and cries of pain. Rocks flew through the air. Not far away she could see that both groups had closed on one another and had come to blows.

Gilan held up his hands.

"Stop it!" he called out. "No humans are to be hurt. Restrain those who oppose us but do not harm them. Concentrate on the church!"

But for once his words seem to fall on deaf ears. He could no longer be heard above the shouts of battle. Even he couldn't control the crowd anymore.

Beside him Aeris was screaming for them to stop too, but she had no more luck than Gilan.

Suddenly the ground shook beneath them and they heard the sound of an explosion.

Aeris looked around. It wasn't the church. It had been farther away than that. The crowd heard it too, and that got their attention. The fighting stopped, everyone suddenly going silent. Those looking to the south could see a plume of black smoke billowing up into the sky.

"What was that?" Gilan said slowly.

Suddenly a man appeared around the corner. When he saw the crowd he ran toward them, shouting something. As he got closer they saw that his shirt was red with blood.

The crowd parted in front of them, and the man stopped in front of Gilan, Aeris and Tifa.

"Ifalnia is being attacked!" he gasped. "Some woman, some woman with enormous power is destroying everything in her path. She says.." he paused to take a breath. "She says that she'll destroy the whole city unless Tifa Strife is brought to her."

Gilan looked at the man with a puzzled expression. Aeris looked at Tifa, who's face had gone suddenly pale.

It was too late. It was too late to run.

"Wisteria," Tifa said slowly. "Wisteria is here."


	16. The Heat Is On

CHAPTER XVI

THE HEAT IS ON

Reeve was fading fast.

He looked ahead. Cloud was a small figure now, running down the road, far ahead. Reeve had tried his best to keep up, but now his lungs burned, his chest heaved for breath. He knew he had to stop.

He came to a halt. He stood there for a few minutes, bent over, hands on his knees, taking huge gulps of air. When he looked up again he could barely make Cloud out.

He resisted the urge to call out. Cloud had said he wasn't going to stop. Reeve wasn't sure if his friend would stick to that statement, but Reeve didn't want to slow him down. Both Tifa and Aeris were in danger, and Reeve felt it was better for everyone if Cloud got there alone then for Reeve to slow him down. It would be better if he left Reeve behind.

He sat down on the side of the road, still breathing heavily but no longer gasping for breath. He had gotten quite a bit of exercise in the last year, since he had joined the group, but he still wasn't in the best of shape, certainly not as well conditioned as Cloud. Even a year of exercise wasn't going to make up for a lifetime of inactivity.

Cloud was gone now. Out of sight. Reeve wondered if he had noticed that he had lost his tag-a-long. Probably not. Reeve hadn't seen him look back. He had been focused on one thing, getting to Ifalnia and saving Tifa. Reeve supposed Cloud would probably run though a volcanic eruption to get there without even noticing.

Reeve bowed his head, cursing himself for his weakness. He didn't have that kind of will, wasn't in that kind of physical condition. If anyone could save them it would be Cloud. He'd be the hero again, and Reeve would be left in the dust.

Not that he blamed Cloud for that. More power to him. It was his own fault, not Cloud's. If he was left behind, he had no one to blame but himself.

It was only natural to want to be the hero. But just wanting it wasn't enough. He wasn't Cloud, and he was never going to be. He would never be the big hero who came in and saved the day with his fighting ability, who beat back the enemy singlehandedly. That wasn't his forte. No, his strengths were in different areas then that. His strength was organization and thinking things through. And no one had ever been proclaimed a hero for their organizational skills.

He was being foolish, and he knew it. There was only one Cloud, and it was stupid to compare himself to the young warrior. He would always come out on the short end of the stick. Instead of trying to be more like Cloud, instead of emphasizing his weaknesses, he should be playing to his strengths. After all, that's what a team was all about. Each person brought their own particular strengths to the group, making them stronger than any one of them individually.

But how could his strengths help now? Wisteria was on the rampage. The only thing that could stop her was strength. Let's face it, even if he had been able to keep up with Cloud, if they faced Wisteria, how much could he contribute? He had to face the facts that he wouldn't be much help at all. Not that that mattered anyway. At the rate he was going, he'd probably not even get there until after the battle was already finished.

Maybe it would be better if he was just left behind, he thought gloomily. It would give them one less person to worry about.

He got up and started walking again. There was no point in trying to run. He'd never be able to catch up with Cloud. It didn't even make sense to go on.

He shook his head, admonishing himself for being a jerk. There was no sense in getting into a funk about this. That wasn't going to do anyone any good. If his strengths were organization and thinking things through, then that's what he should be doing, not moping around feeling sorry for himself.

But again, how was thinking things through going to help at this point? Calin had already told them what to do to have a chance against Wisteria. It was probably foolish for Cloud to rush ahead. It seemed unlikely that even with his skills he could defeat Wisteria on his own. Aeris and Tifa were there, but Tifa was pregnant, which pretty much eliminated her ability to fight. Aeris and Tifa would have to use magical skills. No, it would be best if they could all fight Wisteria together. Every little bit would count. Who knows, even his own limited skills, when combined with the others, might be just enough to put them over the top, give them the capability to defeat her. He shouldn't sell himself short.

But his skills were useless if he didn't get there in time. Wisteria wasn't going to politely wait around for them all to show up. No matter what their fighting skills, no matter how easily they could defeat Wisteria as a team, it wouldn't matter if they didn't have time to get there.

The basic problem was time. He couldn't run as fast as Cloud. There was no way he could keep up that way. But he had no other transportation. The Slipstream was in Corel. There was no way anyone could get to it in time. The Turks helicopter wouldn't be here for one and a half to two hours. What other options did they have?

Reeve's brow furrowed. He was mayor of Ifalnia. They had a few helicopters there. He could order one to come get him. But no, that wouldn't work either. Ifalnia was too far away. By the time the copter came to pick him up, it wouldn't be any faster than the Turks.

No, it had to be someplace closer. The nearest town was Costa del Sol, but they didn't know anyone there. If they got a helicopter there, they'd have to hire it out. Who knows how long that would take.

The only other nearby town was...

A thought suddenly occurred to him. He stopped and pulled out his PHS. He dialed quickly. He heard it ring, then twice more.

"C'mon," he muttered, tapping his foot impatiently. "Pick it up."

"Hello?"

"Shera," he exclaimed. "We need your help!"

* * *

The crackling of electricity and a shower of sparks preceded a string of curses.

Cid got up, hands on hips, and looked at the sparking console in front of him. He had been working on rewiring it for about twenty minutes, but it was fast becoming obvious to him that he was wasting his time.

It was too badly damaged, that was all there was to it. He hardly had any tools, and he had no idea where to even start to look for replacement parts. Calin had gone with Cait down to the main reactor, so he didn't even have anyone to ask. Which also meant he didn't have anyone to assist him. Not that that mattered at this point. He was pretty handy with machines, but even he couldn't work with nothing. They had left him with an impossible task, and all the assistants in the world wasn't going to change that fact.

Maybe if he had a shop full of equipment and a weeks time, he could fix this. But those options weren't available to him. He could still hear the wail of the alarms. If they didn't do anything quickly, this whole place was going to be blown to smithereens.

He wondered how much time they had left. Nothing in the control room was working. Wisteria had been very thorough. There was nothing here to indicate how much time they might have left.

He shook his head. There was no point in remaining here. There was nothing else he could do. He might as well go down to the reactor and see how the others were doing.

Having made up his mind, he quickly left the room. He walked rapidly down the hall. Calin had told him how to get to the reactor. He just hoped the others were faring better than he had been.

It took him about ten minutes to reach the reactor. He didn't meet anyone along the way. Everyone else had long since cleared out. Not that that would help them much. Unless they had a plane, there was no way they were going to get out of the blast radius before the place went up. If Cait couldn't stop the reactor, no one was going to make it.

There were a number of security doors along the way, but all of them stood open and deserted.

Eventually he made his way into a large room. Calin stood in front of a console in the center of the room. Cid could see Cait working in the next room though thick glass windows.

The alarms here seemed more incessant than ever. In addition to that he could feel the hum of the rector beneath his feet, and it seemed distinctly hotter here. A green glow, emanating from the room beyond, filled the room.

Cid came up beside Calin and looked over his shoulder.

"Can't you shut the reactor down from here?' he questioned.

Calin started. He had not seen Cid come up behind him.

"No," he replied. "This equipment is just used for monitoring. There's no way to shut it off here."

"Wonderful," Cid muttered. He looked over the gauges in front of them, but even with his mechanical skills, he didn't know what many of them meant. He had no actual experience running a mako reactor. "How is Cait doing?"

"He's done well so far," Calin replied. "But I'm afraid the mako radiation is starting to get to him. He's stumbled a few times in the last couple of minutes. I don't think his circuits can take much more."

"Do you think he can remove enough mako to stop it from blowing up before he malfunctions?"

"I'm not sure," Calin replied, staring at the instruments in front of him. "He'll have to get it down to less than 50 capacity. Right now it's at 87. He's still got a long way to go. I don't know well he can hold up, but it doesn't look good."

"How much longer do you think we have?" Cid questioned.

"Again, it's hard to say. Twenty minutes to a half hour, tops."

There was an intercom right beside Calin. Cid pressed the speaker.

"Cait, how ya doin'?"

Cait had removed one of the mako rods and was carrying it over to the disposal pool. He looked up briefly.

"A piece of cake," he said cheerfully.

Cid nodded. Cait appeared to be his usual self.

Even as the thought that the huge mog stumbled. He tumbled head over heels, although Cid could see nothing for him to trip over. The mako rod clattered away on the concrete floor.

"Are you all right?" Cid questioned.

Cait didn't reply. For a moment he didn't do anything at all. Then he pulled himself to his feet. He looked over at Cid and waved an okay.

"I'm...fine," he said slowly. He walked over and tried to pick up the rod, but it slipped out of his hands again. He tried a second time and managed to pick it up this time, then continued his journey over to the disposal pool.

Cid and Calin exchanged worried looks. Cait wasn't he most coordinated of creatures to begin with. But Cid thought this time it was more than that. It seemed obvious that in spite of his reassurance to the contrary, Cait was feeling the effects of the mako.

"I don't think he can go on much longer," Calin said.

Cid didn't reply. He wanted to believe Calin was wrong. He wanted to believe that Cait would get the job done. He had to believe, because if he didn't, he knew he'd be going in there next.

"You don't have any protective suits or anything?" he questioned.

Calin shook his head.

"No one anticipated going into the reactor," he replied.

"Seems like there wasn't too much thinking ahead going on here," Cid muttered.

Calin didn't argue the point.

Cait removed two more rods before he stumbled again. This time it took him even longer to get up, and when he did he looked around for a moment, as if he was lost, before he continued.

Cid didn't say anything. There was no need to. He didn't want to think about what would happen if Cait fell and didn't get up again.

But the strange part was, when Cait eventually did malfunction, he didn't fall down at all. He was walking back to the reactor rods when he suddenly stopped.

"I don't feel so..." he began, but never finished. His head fell forward, but the did not fall over.

"Cait! Cait, are you okay?" Cid shouted.

In spite of Cid's pleas, Cait did not respond.

"Shit," Cid blurted out finally. "How many more rods need to be removed?"

"I can't say for sure," Calin replied.

"Dammit, don't you know anything?" Cid snapped angrily.

"Maybe ten or fifteen. I wasn't in charge of the reactor," Calin replied defensively. "I was in charge of the mako infusion research. Grolich was in charge of the reactor."

"Well, what the hell happened to him?" Cid replied. "Did he run out when all this started?"

"No, he was in the control room," Calin replied. "Wisteria killed him. You probably saw his body."

Cid didn't answer. It was a stupid thing to argue about anyway. Pointless. He knew what he had to do. There was no choice. If someone didn't go into that reactor and finish the job, they were all going to die anyway.

"I'm going in," he said.

Calin looked at him for a moment.

"I'll come with you," he said.

Cid glared at him.

"What's the point of us both dying," he questioned.

"There aren't a lot of rods left," Calin replied. "We can do it a lot faster together. Maybe with both of us removing the rods, we'll finish fast enough so that neither one of us will get a lethal dose."

Cid wanted to argue, he wasn't even sure why. He supposed he didn't like the idea of risking more than one life. But he had to admit what Calin was saying made a lot of sense.

"All right, let's get on with it," he agreed.

Calin nodded. He walked forward to the thick insulated door that separated them from the reactor core, a door Cid couldn't help but notice was plastered with warning about not entering when the reactor was live.

What the hell are we getting ourselves into, he thought.

But he didn't have much time to contemplate that before the door swung open.

And it was a good thing he didn't. Because if he had, he didn't know whether he'd have been able to keep his nerve. As he followed Calin into the room he couldn't help but notice his throat going suddenly dry. In spite of his attempts not to, his thoughts went to Shera and Sydney. He wasn't just a lone hot shot pilot anymore. He had a family. A family that needed him. Why was he still doing all this crazy shit?

Nevertheless he forced himself forward. Now he was in the room, the green glow surrounding him. He knew the mako energy was permeating his body, slowly poisoning him. Irrationally, he had thought he would be able to detect that somehow. He looked around, but except for it being almost intolerably hot, he felt nothing at all.

"Hurry," he heard Calin mutter.

Cid followed Calin's lead. He had seen what Cait was doing, so he had a pretty good idea of what needed to be done. He walked over to the bank of rods. He stood there for a moment, looking at one of them, hesitating. They looked hot, and he had no gloves. But he saw Calin pull one out without discomfort. There was a small knob attached to the end, obviously designed to grab hold of. He took hold of it, not sure what to expect, but it didn't feel unusual at all.

He pulled it out and almost dropped it. It was much heavier than he expected! He lifted up his knee to rest it on while he got a better grip, then he lifted it up again and carried it over to the disposal pool.

The rods were not only heavy but cumbersome. They weren't designed for one person to carry. They seemed to progress agonizingly slowly. The air seemed thick, and Cid almost felt like he had to push his way through it. He had to take deep breaths just to get a little oxygen into his lungs. The place was viciously hot. He started to wonder if he was going to keel over from heatstroke long before the mako poisoning got to him. Or perhaps the feeling of being hot was a symptom of the poisoning. It was hard to judge.

Neither one of them spoke. Talking seemed to Cid to be not worth the effort. Even after Calin fell to the ground after dropping one of the rods into the disposal pool. Cid just went right on with what he was doing. The fact was, he barely noticed. All his focus was concentrated on removing the rods, on keeping his own body going. He was hardly aware of anything else going on around him.

He had no idea how long they had been in here, but by now it seemed like hours. Calin managed to stumble to his feet, but he didn't continue much longer before he fell again, and this time, he did not get up.

Cid didn't even notice until he almost tripped over him. He stopped for a minute. He knew this was a bad thing, he knew it meant he didn't have much more time himself. But by now he felt somehow indifferent. His vision was beginning to blur, and at the same time a strange lethargy was overcoming him. It seemed to take tremendous effort just to put one foot in front of the other.

Goddam. This was not good. He looked over at the rods that were still in place. How many more did they have to take out? He tried to count the ones that were still there, but for some reason, though he knew there were more, he couldn't get past three. There was no one outside in the control room, no one to tell him if he had taken enough out to prevent the explosion, but he didn't think of that.

He fell to his knees. The rod in his hands felt like it weighed tons. He couldn't see how he could possibly lift it. But somehow he forced himself to get up. Almost mechanically, he brought the rod over to the disposal pool and dropped it in with a splash.

He stopped again, wiping the sweat from his brow. His shirt was soaked. It felt like he was in a sauna. He room seemed to be spinning. He almost fell, but reached out and braced his hand against the wall to prevent it. He had to keep going. The others couldn't help anymore. If he didn't stop the reactor, no one would.

Gathering all his strength he forced himself upright. He staggered over to the rods once more. It took him a long time, but he managed to pull another one out. He could barely lift it.

He grappled with it, stumbling back toward the pool He almost dropped it, one end banging against the ground, but somehow managed to hold on. He stumbled again once he reached the pool, letting it slip out of his hands. Part of it banged against the floor again, but it bounced up and fell into the pool. Cid was pitched off balance. This time he did fall, coming down heavily on his left leg, and almost falling into the pool himself. He lay there for a long time, trying to summon the strength to get up. But he had nothing left. In spite of his efforts he felt himself sinking down. It seemed beyond his strength to get up again.

He fought to remain conscious, though he wasn't sure why. He was sure this was the end. Who knows had badly he had been exposed by now. He had seen the man Vincent had found in the woods by Lucrecia's falls. He had been incoherent, insane. Cloud had been the same way when he had been poisoned. Was he going to end up the same way? Cloud had recovered but the other man had not. Was Shera going to end up married to a vegetable, a man who's mind had been destroyed by mako? Could fate be that cruel?

It would be better to die.

_Shera._

He stirred, lifting his shoulders. His vision was foggy, but he could still make out the door. There was no way he could lift anymore rods. He had done what he could, and if it wasn't enough then it wasn't.

There really didn't seem much point. It was probably too late. He was probably too far gone, but thinking of Shera made him want to try, made him not want to give up. The least he could do was get himself out of this room. He couldn't give up now. Shera was depending on him, and so was Sydney.

It felt like the hardest thing he had ever done in his life, but somehow he struggled to his knees. Slowly, he inched his way toward the door. By this time he had no concept of time. He didn't know whether minutes or hours past as he slowly crawled towards the opening. It didn't matter. He had no other goal but to reach the door.

He was looking down at the floor, staring at each arm as he moved it forward, as if it would only work if he focused all his concentration on it. When something grabbed hold of his shoulder, he didn't even realize it at first. All he knew was that suddenly his progress greatly improved. A few moments later he found himself outside the door, outside the core. As he sunk down to the ground he looked up to see Red standing beside him.

"Cid," the red beast called.

He could tell Red was saying his name, but his voice didn't seem to want to work. All he could do was lie there looking at his friend. His head was spinning. He felt nauseous. His limbs were numb.

"Cid," Red cried out again, his voice sounding very agitated. "Hang on. The Turks are here with the helicopter. We're going to get you out of here. We're going to get you to a hospital. Just hang on."

Cid's throat was dry. The world was turning a misty shade of grey. He just wanted to rest. But there was one more thing he had to do. He tried to wet his lips, but there as no moisture. He opened his mouth, forcing the words out through cracked lips.

"Tell...Shera...that I..I love her."

And then he let his head fall back. The greyness closed in around him, and he stuggled no more.

* * *

The trees had been thinning out in front of Cloud for some time. Finally they fell away behind him, leaving an open plain in front. The forest and the mountains were behind him. Ahead, and slightly to the right, he caught a glimpse of blue where the plain ran down to the ocean. He looked north. He was still too far away from Costa del Sol to see it, but he knew he didn't have too much farther to go.

He had finally realized that he had left Reeve behind. By the time he had, however, Reeve was no where to be seen. Cloud had been tempted to go back and look him, but had decided against it. It would be better for him to get to Costa del Sol as fast as he could. If he could find chocobo, he could go back and get Reeve then. It would be a lot quicker that way.

Or he could leave Reeve to fend for himself. He was terribly worried about Tifa. She and Aeris would be no match for Wisteria. He knew he'd never forgive himself if something happened to her while he wasn't there. And would he ever be able to forgive Reeve if something happened to Tifa because he went back to get Reeve?

He pushed that thought grimly out of his mind. A million things could happen. There was no sense thinking about a worse case scenario. Reeve couldn't be too far behind, and they might need his help against Wisteria. Besides, Cloud knew that Reeve was just as worried about Aeris as he was about Tifa.

He had been traveling at a fast pace, but he hadn't really been pushing himself. With this long a distance, he couldn't go all out the entire way. Now that his goal was almost in sight he found himself going even faster, pushing his pace to the limit.

He shouldn't have left them alone. He had had a bad feeling about it from the very beginning. But at the time he had just thought that Gilan Bradford would be the problem. Aeris had seemed pretty certain she could handle any trouble he caused. But now they were in trouble again, and he couldn't help them. How many times had this happened now? Aeris faced Sephiroth and was killed. The bar had been blown up, nearly killing Tifa. In both cases he hadn't been able to lift a finger to help either one of them. When was he going to learn?

He should have stayed with them, or insisted that _someone_ stay with them. Gilan was a clear danger. That alone should have made him more cautious.

He was being irrational, and he knew it. He couldn't stay by Tifa's side twenty four hours a day. No one was responsible for another person's life. It just couldn't be done. Given what had happened, he had had no choice. He had had to search for the reactor. And if he had left someone behind, how much better would they fare against Wisteria?

But even those thoughts didn't stop him from feeling like he had failed again.

Thinking that just made his feet fly faster. It wasn't over yet. There was still a chance he could get there in time.

The sound of the plane had grown quite loud by the time he noticed it.

He looked up as a dark shadow shot just a few hundred feet overhead. His eyes widened as he recognized the unmistakable shape of the Tiny Bronco.

The plane banked sharply. As it turned toward him again, he could see Shera at the controls, with Reeve in the seat behind her.

"Goddam," he muttered.

The plane came back toward him, dropping down onto the plain, landing a hundred meters away and taxiing in his direction. He ran toward it.

Shera waved as he reached it. The plane came to a stop, the propellers still spinning.

"Hurry up!" Reeve called.

Cloud didn't need any prodding. He leaped up and climbed aboard. Almost as soon as his feet left the ground Shera gunned the engine. A moment later they were in the air again, turning north toward Ifalnia.

"Shera, what are you doing here?" Cloud called out.

"Reeve called me," she replied. "He said it was an emergency."

Cloud turned to look at Reeve. He nodded in appreciation.

"Good thinking Reeve," he said.

Reeve shrugged. He couldn't help but add a little dig.

"You're just lucky I didn't leave you behind," he said with a smile.

Cloud smiled ruefully in return.

"I was going to come back for you once I got a chocobo," he said.

"It's all right," Reeve replied. "I understand. I probably would have done the same thing in your place."

Cloud didn't reply. The Tiny Bronco was faster than either a chocobo or a helicopter. Reeve had come up with the best solution. He kicked himself for not thinking of it himself.

"How long until we reach Ifalnia?" he asked.

Shera glanced down at the gauges in front of her.

"About fifteen twenty minutes," she replied. "What's going on?"

Cloud gave her a quick rundown on what had happened with Wisteria. When he got to the part about the reactor going critical she interrupted.

"The reactor might explode?"

Cloud suddenly realized he had probably said too much. The reactor could explode, and Cid was there. But he couldn't take back the words now.

"I'm sure they'll be all right..." he said, not knowing what else to say.

"Cid's been in scrapes like this before and managed to get himself out," Reeve piped in.

Shera was silent for a long time. She was facing forward, so he couldn't see how pale her face had suddenly become. When she spoke again, her voice gave away no hint of the hollow feeling in her stomach.

"Well, when you said it was an emergency, you weren't kidding. I'm glad to help. Were Vincent and Elena okay?"

"I don't know," Cloud replied. "Elena didn't look too bad, but Vincent was in serious condition. I hope so."

They fell silent. Shera drove the plane onward, pushing it to it's limits, well aware that she was going in the opposite direction from the reactor. If it was going to explode, a fast airplane might be the only escape possible.

But she bit her lip and flew on. She had to depend on Cid's abilities to get himself out of a tight spot. Again. How many times would this go on? How many times would he push his luck? How many times before it ran out?

She felt a momentary bitterness toward Cloud. Toward everyone in Avalanche. Cid wasn't as young as he used to be. He had responsibilities. He had a wife and a child. He should have settled down by now, should be raising his family. But instead he was off gallivanting with Cloud and the others. If he had never met them, how much different would his life be?

A momentary bitterness, but it passed quickly. She knew she wasn't being fair. All those years that Cid had been scornful of her. It had only changed after he had met Cloud and his friends. She had a feeling they had had a lot to do with his asking her to marry him, a lot to do with making him face up to how he really felt. If he had never become a member of Avalanche, would he have told her how he felt about her after she left him, or would he have just let her go?

And besides, Cid wasn't galavanting. He wasn't hanging out at the bowling alley with his buddies drinking beer. What Avalanche was doing was important. When they had stopped Sephiroth, they had literally saved the world. They all knew the dangers of mako, they all knew what kind of damage another reactor could cause. How could she complain, when he was doing so much good?

But in spite of those reasons, in spite of the logic of what he was doing, she wanted to complain. She wanted him to be with his family. She knew it wasn't fair to feel that way, but she couldn't help it. Sometimes she just felt cheated by the whole thing.

And now, now he was stuck at some reactor that was about to explode. God, how did he always end up getting himself into such messes? She loved him so much. She didn't know what she would do if something happened to him.

She suddenly realized her eyes were moist.

She wiped them dry. There was no time for this. There was nothing she could do to help Cid. She just had to pray that he would be all right. She looked up and realized that they had covered quite a distance while she had been lost in thought. They were already over the northern continent. She could see Shell Village, the excavation site sticking out of the trees to the left. And ahead she could make out the dark forest that surrounded Ifalnia.

"We're almost there," she announced.

Cloud leaned forward at this, craning his neck to look ahead. But they were still too far away to make out any details.

There was no airport at Ifalnia. At least, not yet. Reeve had one planned, but construction had only just begun. The road leading in had been widened to allow the heavy construction equipment needed to build up the city. Shera looked for a straight portion of the road as close to the city itself as she could find, then set the plane down there.

Before it had even come to a full stop Cloud leaped out. He hit the ground running. He looked back. Reeve was right behind him. Shera was still shutting off the engines.

"You all go ahead," she called out. "I'll catch up!"

Cloud nodded.

"Thanks Shera, you're a lifesaver!"

He ran down the road, as fast as he could. Shera had landed close to the city, and they could both see the rooftops of some of the taller buildings sticking out through the trees ahead. This was fortunate for Reeve. For that short a distance, he could keep up with Cloud.

The ran straight through the upper city. Something was going on. Some people were running in the streets, shouting as they went, but neither Cloud or Reeve could make out what they were saying. And neither one of them was inclined to stop and ask. Cloud felt that every minute counted. For the agitation expressed by the people, he had a feeling Wisteria was already here.

They reached the entrance to the underground city and plunged in, running down the wide tunnel until they came to the long crystalline staircase. From there they could see the entire city below them.

They both paused for a moment, staring down at the city beneath them. The Cetra glow of the buildings was unchanged, but it was augmented. Dark clouds of smoke billowed up into the air from the center of the city. But it was the source of the smoke that now commanded their attention. Brighter than the Cetra glow, it cast flickering shadows on the walls of the cavern and sent burning embers high into the air. Both Cloud and Reeve could feel the warmth of it, even from here.

Ifalnia was in flames.


	17. Showdown in Ifalnia

CHAPTER XVII

SHOWDOWN IN IFALNIA

"Tifa, find someplace safe."

Tifa frowned.

"I told you, I'm not going to abandon you," she said.

"Tifa, don't be stupid," Aeris said angrily. "It's not Gilan this time. Wisteria is after you. You can't face her and you know it."

Tifa just stood there for a moment. She wasn't used to hearing Aeris use that tone of voice.

"Aeris I.." she started to protest.

Aeris took a step toward her.

"Think about the baby!" she said.

Tifa didn't reply. She didn't know what to do. She knew Aeris was right, but she was loath to leave her friend to face the danger alone.

"Aeris!"

Aeris turned at the voice to see Elmyra running toward her.

"Mother," she said.

"What's going on?" the older woman asked as she came up. "I heard there was some kind of trouble..."

She saw Gilan standing nearby and frowned.

"It's all right mother," Aeris replied. "But we can't stay here. I want you to take Tifa and find someplace safe."

"Aeris, what do you..." Elmyra began.

"I don't have time to explain!" Aeries exclaimed. "Just do as I say, the both of you."

No one responded.

"Please!"

Elmyra looked at her daughter for a moment longer, then nodded.

Off in the distance there was the sound of another explosion. It sounded much closer this time.

Aeris turned away and started down the street, heading toward the sound.

"Aeris," Tifa said. She took a step forward, but Elmyra reached out and took her arm. The older woman wasn't sure what was going on, but it was obvious from the sound of the explosions and what she had heard so far that Aeris was headed for danger. And though she was afraid for her daughter, she didn't want to see Tifa and her baby exposed to danger either.

"It's all right dear, Aeris can take care of herself," she said as reassuringly as she could, hoping that her voice didn't give away just how unsure she was of the truth of that statement.

Aeris didn't look back. There was no time for that now. She just had to hope that her words and Elmyra would keep Tifa from following.

She turned the corner. She could see smoke rising about the houses not far ahead. She quickened her step. Who knows how much damage Wisteria had already done. Aeris held no title here, but she still thought of Ifalnia as not only her home but the last refuge of the Cetra. Even though the people here were human, she still felt a special bond with them, and an obligation to protect them. She wasn't about to let anyone destroy it without a fight.

She tried to remember everything she knew about Wisteria. It wasn't much. Aeris had never met her. She was the daughter of President Gram, or President Elect Gram, or whoever he had been. She was spoiled and vindictive, but apparently hadn't been much of a threat on her own.

Aeris shook her head. That wasn't much to go on. Even if she had know more, too much had changed. With the mako infusion and what it had done to her mind, there was no predicting just what kind of threat Wisteria would really pose.

The sound of another blast echoed through the air. It sounded like it was right around the corner.

Aeris glanced back and noticed that most of the crowd had followed her, including, to her surprise, Gilan Bradford.

"Stay back," she called out.

She didn't stop to see if they obeyed. She had to concentrate on Wisteria. She pulled out a red materia orb, then stepped around the corner.

Her adversary was not far away, walking down the center of the street. Or at least, Aeris assumed the woman in front of her was he adversary. She looked perfectly ordinary. The woman had shoulder length blonde hair and was wearing a dark business suit. Aeris wasn't close enough to notice much more than that.

For a moment Aeris hesitated. She couldn't help but wonder whether this was really Wisteria or some innocent bystander.

But it had to be her. There was no one else in the street. The woman was walking casually down the center of the road. Behind her Aeris could see three or four buildings in flames. If she was a bystander why would she be out in the road in the middle of all this? That didn't make any sense.

Still, the woman in front of her did not appear any different from most anyone else in Ifalnia.

Behind the woman the door to one of the burning buildings suddenly was pulled open. A man rushed out into the street. He looked around for a moment, then turned and ran.

The woman turned at the sound. She extended her hand. For a moment green light flashed around her, followed immediately by the crack of thunder as lightning erupted around the man. He fell to the ground.

"Stop it!' Aeris shouted.

Wisteria spun around. She lifted up her hand, but then stopped, staring at Aeris. Suddenly she began to walk rapidly forward.

Aeris' materia orb glowed redly.

A giant machine-like creature appeared behind Aeris as the summon took effect. Wisteria just stared up at the creature, making no move. A pure white light shot from it suddenly, engulfing Wisteria in a blast of incandescence.

Alexander faded away, as did the light from it's attack. Yet when it was gone, Wisteria still stood, apparently no worse for the wear.

She continued walking forward until she stood right in front of Aeris.

"Where is she?" she questioned.

"Where is who?" Aeris replied.

"You know who!" Wisteria shouted "That bitch friend of yours. Tifa!"

Aeris just looked at her for a moment. If she was intimidated by Wisteria, it did not show.

"She's gone," she replied finally.

"Gone?' Wisteria shouted. "Gone where?"

Again Aeris paused before responding. Wisteria's eyes were boring into her, demanding an answer.

"Someplace safe," Aeris said calmly.

Wisteria's face darkened with rage.

"Tell me!" she screamed.

Her hand shot forward again, and a blast of lightning knocked Aeris to the ground.

Before Aeris could recover another blast struck her. She cried out in pain. She tried to lunge out of the way, but yet another blast knocked her over before she could move. Aeris fumbled with her materia, trying to cast wall, but she couldn't concentrate. The attacks were hitting her wave after wave, almost nonstop. She didn't have time to concentrate before another blast struck her. She had never felt anything like this. She had been in battles before. Had fought against others who used materia. There was always a pause between each attack. Always a moment where her adversary had to focus on their materia to unleash an attack. Ordinarily, if you were fast, that moment could be taken advantage of to launch your own attack. But now there was no let up. Wave after wave of offensive spells slammed into Aeris. Not giving her a chance to counter, not giving her a chance to dodge, not giving her a chance to do much of anything. How could she fight something like this?

And then abruptly, it stopped. She found herself lying on her side, though she had no idea just how she had ended up that way. She was panting heavily. She tried to lift herself up, but fell back with a cry of pain. Both her arms and legs were badly burned. He chest felt like it had been struck with a hammer. She scent of burnt flesh filled her nostrils, making her nauseous.

She turned her head and saw Wisteria looking at her.

"Where is she?" Wisteria screamed.

Aeris did not reply, just lay there panting, struggling for breath.

Wisteria took a step closer.

"Tell me!" she demanded.

She raised her hands again.

"You'll never...you'll never find her if...you kill me," Aeris managed to say finally.

Wisteria's face turned red with rage. She lifted her hands above her head.

"Then you'll _die_!" she shouted. "And I'll destroy this whole city along with you. I'll kill everyone here. I'll dismantle this place stone by stone until I find her. You can't hide her from me! Now tell me where she is!"

Aeris coughed. She felt something wet trickle from the corner of her mouth. She wiped it and saw her arm was red.

She looked at Wisteria, who stood above her, a wild look in her eyes. A look devoid of sanity.

Aeris lowered her head and nodded.

"All right, I...I'll tell you," she said slowly.

* * *

"Tifa, please calm down."

Tifa didn't reply. Elmyra had led her away from the church, in the opposite direction of the battle, but they hadn't gotten very far. Tifa's feet dragged. She kept looking back. She could understand Elmyra's argument. Her priorities were different now. She had a baby to think about. But still Tifa felt torn in two. Ever fiber of her being told her to go back, to help her friend.

"I can't help it," she said finally. "I promised you I'd look after her..."

She stopped, staring behind them. She could still see smoke rising there. Wisteria was after her. It was her fault that woman was here. It was her fault Ifalnia was being torched. These other people were just innocent bystanders. How many people was she going to kill?

"Tifa, please..."

But Tifa wasn't listening. She felt like she was near tears. All those people, all those homes. And Aeris... Aeris was facing her, facing Wisteria. Alone. Red had said that Wisteria had beaten both Vincent and Elena. Aeris was good with magic, but how could stand against this? It was suicide.

"Tifa!" Elmyra said, grabbing hold of the young girls arm again. "Are you listening to me?"

Tifa didn't reply, just stood there shaking her head.

"How many people were going to die?" she finally said softly. "I've been responsible for enough deaths. The people killed when we blew up the Midgar reactors. The Shinra soldiers we fought. Shinra dropped the plate on Sector 7 because of us. I don't want to have any more blood on my hands."

Elmyra frowned.

"What are you talking about?" she said. "You weren't the one who blew up the reactors. That was Barret and Cloud. You had no choice when you fought the Shinra soldiers. If you hadn't killed them, they would have killed you. And it wasn't your fault Shinra dropped the plate, just like it's not your fault Wisteria has gone berserk."

"But it's because of me she's here," Tifa replied. "And now I'm running away, letting my best friend face her alone. When Jenova's disciples were after me, Aeris risked her own life to come to my aid. I can't just leave her!"

"But it's not the same," Elmyra pleaded. "She had that Banish Evil thing."

"But she didn't _know_ that," Tifa shot back. "As far as she knew, she didn't have any defense. She didn't think about it. She knew her friends were in trouble and she came to their aid, no matter what the consequences to herself. How could I not do the same?"

"Tifa it's foolish," Elmyra said. "You're no match for Wisteria in your current condition, and we all know that. Do you want something to happen to your child?"

"Aeris can't face her alone," Tifa went on, as if she hadn't even heard Elmyra. "She doesn't stand a chance. I promised you I'd look after her. I can't...I can't do this. How could I look _any_ of my friends in the eye again if something happened to her and I didn't try to help her? How could I look at Reeve..."

"Tifa, be reasonable. There's nothing you can do to help. Aeris will be all right. I don't know how, but somehow she'll manage to get through this."

"No," Tifa said, shaking her head. "That's not true and you know it. You're just saying that. You're just saying that so I don't go back. Elmyra, I have to help her."

"Tifa, no..."

Tifa took a step away. Elmyra tightened her grip on the younger girls arm, but Tifa suddenly pulled it free with a jerk. Elmyra looked up and saw tears in Tifa's eyes.

Tifa stepped away from her, shaking her head.

"I have to. I'm sorry...I have to go back." She turned and started to run awkwardly down the road, back the way they had come.

"Tifa! Tifa, please!" Elmyra shouted, her voice choked with emotion.

She started to follow, but then stopped. She was deathly afraid. Afraid for Tifa, afraid for Aeris, afraid for the baby. She sank down slowly to her knees, feeling tears running down her own cheeks. She knew deep down inside that she couldn't stop Tifa. And deep down inside, she wasn't sure she wanted to. She knew Aeris was in deadly danger, and she also thought that perhaps somehow Tifa would be able to help, that together somehow the two of them could overcome Wisteria. Deep down inside she couldn't help but feel a little relieved that Aeris would not have to face this threat alone. And at the same time, that thought made her feel terribly guilty. Tifa coming to Aeris aid would put her and the baby at risk. A risk Elmyra knew her own daughter had wanted to avoid at any cost. What if even with Tifa's help they couldn't defeat Wisteria? What if, by going to her friends aid, Tifa had signed both her and her unborn child's death warrant?

Elmyra brought her hands up to her face, choking back the tears that threatened to suddenly overwhelm her.

"Be safe," she said softly. "Please, all of you, be safe."

* * *

Wisteria lowered her hands.

"Where?" she demanded.

Aeris didn't reply. She stared at the ground, breathing heavily. Her hand came up and clutched her side.

Wisteria didn't notice the soft breeze that suddenly wafted through the air, down here where there were no breezes.

"_Where_?" Wisteria screamed, taking a stop closer.

She was only a few paces away now. Suddenly Aeris lunged up, her powers having rejuvenated her enough to continue the fight. She drove her rod forward and into Wisteria's stomach. Her adversary cried out and fell backwards.

Aeris sprang forward, raising her rod to strike again. But Wisteria was even quicker than she suspected. Even as her rod came down, Wisteria's eyes glowed green and her hand shot out. Before the rod could strike her a second time, the blast of Ultima hurled Aeris backwards. The young Cetra flew through the air, her rod spinning away. She came crashing down in the rubble of a nearby building. She cried out in pain as her back slammed hard against a concrete wall.

Despite the pain Aeris somehow managed to pull herself to her feet. She dodged out of the way of blast of fire, trying to put some distance between herself and her adversary. But again the attacks came almost on top of one another. She didn't take more than a few steps when she was knocked off her feet again by a hail of ice. Wisteria was screaming something incoherent but Aeris could barely hear it. Her mind raced desperately, trying to think of something else she could do, anything else. Her ploy had failed, she knew Wisteria wouldn't fall for another delay. She had been hoping that Wisteria had used up her strength, that she wouldn't be able to keep up her level of attack. The spells had to be sapping her strength. That was the way materia worked. At least, that was the way regular materia worked. Was it different for Wisteria? Could she use spells at will, at no cost to herself? If that were true, was there anyone who could beat her?

Aeris cried out again as lightning hit her one more time. She almost blacked out from the pain, but forced herself somehow to remain conscious. Even so she knew she couldn't take much more. Yet what could she do? Her materia was useless. Her rod was lost in the rubble around them. She barely had time to think between attacks, much less fight back.

Green light flared again. Aeris tried to pull herself to her feet, but her legs would not obey her. She rolled over, finding partial cover behind a large slab of concrete. But a moment later the blast of Ultima struck, smashing the concrete to rubble. Pieces of it flew like shrapnel, and one stuck Aeris in the abdomen. Agonizing pain shot through her and she cried out yet again. She fell back, her head banging on the road, sending sparks shooting through her brain. Her head was spinning, but again she forced herself to concentrate. Forced herself to remain conscious. She looked down and saw that her hand was clutching her stomach. Her dress was red beneath it.

She looked up and saw Wisteria walking toward her again. She tried to get up, but the pain was too great. She looked around, desperate for some kind of solution, but there was nothing she could do. She had no weapon to fight this. She was helpless.

Wisteria stopped and raised her hand again. Aeris was badly hurt. She knew she couldn't dodge. She braced herself for what would probably be her enemies final attack.

"No!"

Wisteria spun around at the sound of the voice. The light in her eyes blazed when she saw who stood there.

"You," she hissed.

Aeris lifted her head. Her vision was blurry, but she could still make out Tifa standing a short distance away. Even with the pain, she felt a knot form in the pit of her stomach. Why was she here? What was she doing?

"Oh god Tifa, no," she groaned.

Tifa stood there, staring at Wisteria. In hindsight, it might not have been wise to give herself away. She might have been able to get a first attack in if she hadn't called out. She might have been able to strike Wisteria before she had a chance to defend herself. It might have been wise to have her material prepared already. It might have been wise to plan ahead.

But she hadn't. Her hands were empty. She hadn't made any plan, she hadn't thought this through. She didn't know what she was going to do. All she knew was her friend was hurt, was in danger, and she couldn't let Wisteria finish off her attack. She hadn't thought beyond the point of just getting here.

And she paid the price. With a burst of cackling laughter, Wisteria's eyes turned bright green. A moment later a blast of Ultima flung Tifa backwards.

"No!" Aeris screamed. She somehow managed to lift herself up to her knees. But when she tried to stand her leg gave out. She looked around desperately. She didn't think she had the strength to cast anymore spells. She didn't see her rod around, and beside that, Wisteria was too far away.

Tifa landed hard on the pavement of the street, finally coming to a stop when her back banged against the curb. She rolled to the side and pulled herself to her feet, just as a hail of ice flew toward her. She tried to dodge to the side, but she wasn't used to carrying as much weight as she had. Her reflexes were not at their usual sharpness. The ice struck her in the side, knocking her down once again.

Wisteria was walking slowly toward Tifa. Aeris struggled forward on hands and knees. She had to stop this somehow. She had to do something. Wisteria seemed to have forgotten all about her now that Tifa had appeared. Now was her chance, now was the time to strike a blow. But her head ached. Her left leg did not respond at all, and the wound in her abdomen sent sharp tendrils of pain shooting throughout her body with every movement. She pulled out a fire material, her hand trembling. She tried to concentrate, but all she could get from the orb was a faint glow. She was too weak. The battle had taken too much out of her.

Aeris hadn't paid much attention to the crowd that had followed her since she confronted Wisteria, but now she looked around and saw that some of them stood a short way down the street, in spite of her warning to stay away. Still, they had not interfered with the battle. But now, suddenly, one of them sprang forward to stand in front of Tifa.

"Wisteria, leave her alone!" Gilan commanded. "No matter what may have happened between you, no matter how she might have hurt you in the past. You can't do this now. Even if you feel your hatred for this woman is justified, the unborn child inside her is innocent. If you kill her you destroy that life too. Are you that much of a monster?"

"Get out of the way, fool!" Wisteria spat out.

"I will not," he said. "You cannot do this. There is no justification for destroying this child. Think of the child!"

For a moment they both just stood there looking at one another. Aeris could feel it. The same thing she felt before, when Gilan was in front of her church. He was reaching out somehow. He was touching Wisteria's mind, trying to bend it to his will.

Unfortunately, whatever powers of persuasion he might possess, his influence did not extend to someone who was insane.

The now familiar blast of Ultima knocked Gilan backwards. He stumbled and fell to the ground, but somehow forced himself back up. But Wisteria didn't hesitate. Just like before, like all her other attacks, one strike was not enough. She unleashed a blizzard of attacks, slamming into him, forcing him down again.

Aeris had crawled forward until she was just a few paces from Wisteria now. Still, she wasn't even sure what she was trying to attempt. She looked around wildly. The road was full of pieces of concrete. She picked up a hand sized one and flung it at Wisteria.

It struck the barrier around the woman and bounced back.

Tifa had pulled herself to her feet behind Gilan. She tried to run to the side, but a sharp pain in her abdomen made her slow to a walk. As Wisteria unleashed her barrage of attacks against Gilan, she pulled out her own Ultima materia.

The blast of Ultima struck Wisteria, washing over her shield. She took a step back, but recovered quickly. She sent a parting shot at the now still form of Gilan, then once more turned her attention to Tifa.

Aeris struggled to keep up. Both Tifa and Wisteria had moved away from her once again. She still had no idea what she could contribute to the battle. But one thing had given her a ray of hope. When Tifa had hit Wisteria with Ultima, Wisteria had taken a step back, had felt the blow, if only lightly. She had recovered almost immediately, but it was the first time any of their attacks had had any effect at all. Perhaps Wisteria was finally weakening.

She heard a grown, and was surprised to realize it didn't come from herself. Her vision was foggy. She could barely see straight ahead. She was afraid she was going to lose consciousness at any moment. She turned her head to look around, and found herself staring at Gilan Bradford.

He was lying on his back, staring up at the sky.

"Gilan" she called out.

He did not reply, did not even look at her. He just lay there moaning softly.

She turned her head. Smoke rose up all around them, obscuring her view. She could barely make Wisteria out, but she could hear the spells, her the sounds of battle. If you could call it such. She had to do something to help Tifa. Wisteria would kill her.

She bowed her head, trying to clear the cobwebs one last time. Trying to concentrate with all her remaining strength. The pain her body felt had faded to a dull ache, perhaps because she was just too weak to feel much of anything anymore. She looked down and saw her dress was soaked with blood. She hadn't realized just how badly she was injured.

She grit her teeth, trying to block out the pain, the blood. One last time she tried to focus her will.

She had been foolish. She realized that now. In spite of the warnings, she had underestimated Wisteria. She had used the summon materia in her initial attack. She should have used her own powers instead. Perhaps she could have used Banish Evil, or a strong protection spell. But she had thought she would have time to use them if necessary. She hadn't. She hadn't expected the explosiveness of Wisteria's attack, or the quickness of it. She hadn't had time to respond until Wisteria had turned her attention to Tifa. And by then Aeris had been hurt. Now she was too weak to use any but the simplest spell, if that.

And finally she did manage it. Once again the refreshing breeze momentarily moved the air around her. Her pains diminished, though they did not disappear completely. Beside her Gilan stopped moaning and turned to look at her.

"We've got to do something," she said. No matter how they might feel about each other it was obvious to Aeris that Gilan's anger was turned toward the Cetra alone. He didn't seem to want to see Tifa hurt anymore than she did. At this point she would grasp at any ally.

Aeris somehow managed to get to her feet. Smoke swirled around them. She could see Tifa. She was down on the ground, a common position for someone facing Wisteria, or so it seemed to Aeris. She was not moving.

"Leave my friend alone!" Aeris shouted.

Wisteria didn't even turn to look at her. Aeris grimaced in pain and stumbled forward.

Gilan looked the other way. He wasn't the only one from the crowd who had followed. Dozens of people stood near the streetcorner, looking at the battle, their faces white with fear at the power of Wisteria's attacks.

Gilan pulled himself to his knees.

"Help her!" he implored. "Wisteria has lost her mind. She's mad with power. She'll kill Tifa and destroy us all. The Ancient can't beat her by herself."

Aeris was turned the other way, but she suddenly stopped and glanced back. She could feel it. She could feel it again. Gilan was reaching out, this time to the crowd. Whatever it was that the did, he was doing it again.

And this time, he got a response.

A dozen people in the crowd started forward. At first their steps were tentative. But when each person saw he was not alone, his step became surer. Their pace quickened, and a moment later they were running forward. Most of them were unarmed, but some of them brandished weapons. With a shout, the converged on Wisteria.

Wisteria suddenly turned, the sound of the crowd finally drawing her attention from her prey. For a moment her eyes widened in surprise, then they glowed with green light.

A wave of fire washed over the crowd. Aeris heard screams. The people broke, most of them falling back in panic. But Gilan was on his feet now. He urged them on. Urged them to continue. And some did. In spite of the attack, in spite of the pain, some pressed on. Aeris stood there, staring in disbelief. She didn't want this. She didn't want to see her people hurt. She didn't want to risk their lives. Every time Wisteria cast a spell someone went down. Each time that happened Aeris grimaced. But still they surged forward. She couldn't see how Wisteria could stop them all now. In spite of the damage Wisteria was doing, it looked for the first time that they might have a chance.

Wisteria suddenly bowed her head. She no longer seemed to be paying attention to the crowd that was rapidly converging on her from all directions. A green mist formed around her, shimmering in the air. She was concentrating all her power. Aeris could feel it. She wasn't done yet. Aeris stared at her. How could she still have the strength to do this?

"Get down!" she cried out, dropping to the ground herself.

Suddenly Wisteria lifted her arms and with a crack that rocked the ground released the power of Ultima in all directions around her.

Those in the front were flung backwards like leaves in a storm. They slammed into those behind them, knocking them down and in some cases, snapping bones. The ground shook beneath them, causing the few who still remained on their feet to fall as well.

Aeris lifted her head. Wisteria was the only one standing. She heard groans, and cries of pain. Those still able to move stumbled to their feet, or tried to crawl away. None of them pressed the attack, they all seemed to have only one thought, to get away. Gilan's influence over the crowd had been broken by a stronger emotion.

Fear.

Aeris shook her head. She couldn't believe it. How could one person have so much power? How much would it take to defeat Wisteria. Aeris had no idea how long they had been fighting. She had no idea how much energy Wisteria had expended, but it had to be a huge amount. It seemed impossible that one person could be so strong.

And for the first time, Aeris began to harbor a fear that maybe they couldn't win.

She found herself stumbling forward. Slowly making her way toward Wisteria, who had turned her back to her again. Aeris could see Tifa crumpled on the street in front of Wisteria. Aeris couldn't tell how badly she was hurt, but she could see blood on her friend's forehead.

Even if it was hopeless, she couldn't just stand by and watch Wisteria kill Tifa. She had to try, not matter how useless her attempt was.

Suddenly she heard a familiar voice call out behind her.

* * *

Cloud ran forward heedlessly, his heart in his throat. The trail was easy to follow. Wisteria had left a path of devastation behind her. He had seen flashes of light from up on the stairs, and now he could hear the sounds of battle, or perhaps it was just Wisteria destroying things. He hoped that was the case. The thought of Aeris and Tifa facing Wisteria alone sent a cold chill down his back.

He glanced back. Cloud was sprinting as fast as he could go now, and Reeve was starting to fall behind. Even so, Cloud wasn't going to wait. Not now. Not when he was this close.

He came around another turn. One of the buildings lining it was burning fiercely, filling the air with acrid smoke. Cloud plunged onward. The sounds of explosions sounded just down the road now.

He passed the burning building, and the smoke in front of him cleared. He could see some people running down the street in his direction. As they came closer he saw that most of them were obviously hurt or wounded. He pulled out his sword, swinging it experimentally in preparation for combat.

He raced around another turn, and stopped.

This street was in even worse condition than the last. Smoke filled the air once again, but this time, not from one building but from half a dozen. The fronts of half the buildings had been destroyed, and rubble filled the street. And bodies. Dozens and dozens of people. He could hear groans, and cries of pain. He couldn't tell who was dead and who was alive. They seemed to be scattered all over the place.

Not far away one woman was still on her feet.

"Wisteria!" Cloud snarled.

* * *

Tifa lifted herself to her knees. She was dizzy, and for some reason couldn't see out of one eye. She reached up and wiped away the fluid that had blinded her. Her hand came away red.

Like everyone else who had faced Wisteria, she had been shocked by the ferocity of her attack. It didn't seem possible that one person could have such power. Tifa had been in many battles, but she had never seen anything like this. Even Sephiroth hadn't had this kind of power.

Wisteria slowly walked over to her until she stood just a few paces away. Tifa painfully pulled herself to her feet. To stand and face her enemy. It made her head spin, but she managed it.

Tifa had been scared when they fought Sephiroth. She had been afraid they might not be able to beat him. It had been a difficult fight, but deep down inside, she never had given up hope. She always thought they had a chance.

There were people lying all around, all of them wounded. Those who were unhurt had scattered, not able to stand against Wisteria's power. Aeris hadn't been able to stand against her either, even with Gilan's help. And Tifa knew full well she was no match for Wisteria. She didn't even think she would have been if she hadn't been pregnant, if she had been at full strength. It seemed that no matter what they did, nothing they could do could hurt Wisteria. She had been scared in battle before, she had felt fear, but never before had she felt helpless.

"Wisteria!"

A shock ran through Tifa at the sound of that voice. She looked past her adversary and saw Cloud running toward them.

Wisteria didn't even turn around. She stood in front of Tifa, a look of triumph on her face. She lifted her hands up again, and green mist formed around her. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and Tifa noticed she was breathing heavily. This struck Tifa as funny, of all things, though she didn't laugh. After all this, after battling for what seemed like hours, all Tifa and the others had done was give Wisteria a bit of a workout.

"Did you like my little Ultima attack?" Wisteria shouted. "Maybe you'd like to see it again. Only this time, you get the full effect!"

Tifa didn't say anything. She looked at Cloud, racing toward them, sword upraised, and she knew he couldn't reach her in time.

Wisteria was only a few paces away. If Tifa had been her old self, if she still had her strength, she would have lunged forward, would have tried to get to Wisteria before she struck. But she didn't have the strength or the speed. Not this time.

She heard Cloud cry out, but she couldn't hear what he said.

She coudn't run, she couldn't fight. All she could do was lower her head.

Wisteria's arms shot forward and...

Tifa braced herself. She had tried to do her best. She had come to her friend's aid. It had been useless, but she had tried. For all the good it had done. She hadn't been able to help at all. The best she could hope for was that Wisteria would be satisfied with her life. That once she had her revenge she would leave, that she wouldn't take it out on the other members of Avalanche. There was some comfort that by giving up her own life, she might save her friends.

Her life...and the life of her child.

_Forgive me Cloud_

She waited.

But nothing happened.

For a moment no one moved, as if time had frozen in place.

Wisteria eyes widened.

Tifa lifted her head. The look of resignation on her face was replaced by one of determination. She stepped forward.

Wisteria held her hands in front of her face, staring at them, a wild look in her eye.

"No," she muttered. "Not now..."

Tifa looked her adversary in the eye.

"Looks like you're out of gas," she commented.

Wisteria opened her mouth, then shut it again. She looked around wildly. She glanced back only to see Cloud bearing down on her, sword raised.

Tifa looked down at her fist and concentrated.

"No!" Wisteria screamed.

She pulled her pocketbook off her shoulder and opened it, fumbling for something inside. A moment later she pulled out a knife and raised it in the air.

But this time, it was Wisteria who was too late. Tifa's fist shot forward, the full brunt of her technique and mako enhanced strength behind it. It struck Wisteria in the center of her face, and Wisteria's face _deformed_. For a moment Tifa could feel sinew and bones tearing and snapping, could feel her fist driving _through_ Wisteria's head. Then Wisteria was flying backwards, tumbling through the air. She hit the street and skidded along it. It took a long time before she finally came to a rest in a lifeless heap.

Tifa fell to her knees. It seemed all her strength had drained out of her body with that blow.

"Tifa!"

Cloud was beside her. He had dropped his sword. Now he pulled her into his arms.

"Cloud," she said softly, her arms going around him as well, and pulling him to her tightly.

"Tifa, thank god you're all right," she heard him saying. "I was so scared. I thought I would be too late. I'd thought I was going to lose you."

Tifa didn't say anything at all. She didn't have to, didn't want to. All she wanted was to feel his arms around her, his body against her own. She never wanted to let him go.

She felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.

Cloud felt her body stiffen. He pulled back so he could see her face.

"Are you all right?" he questioned sharply.

Tifa didn't reply for a moment. The pain came again, even more sharply. She grimaced.

"Tifa!" Cloud said.

Tifa's hands wrapped around her stomach.

"I don't know," she said slowly. "The baby..."

Suddenly it felt like someone had driven a knife into her abdomen.

"Ahhh!" she cried out.

"Tifa!" Cloud shouted.

"What's wrong?"

The voice barely registered with Tifa. All she could feel was the pain.

"It's Tifa," Cloud shouted back to Aeris. "I need your help! We have to get her to the hospital!"

* * *

Something was wrong.

Tifa lay on a stretcher, staring up at the roof of the ambulance. She could see both Cloud and Aeris faces hovering over her, but she barely noticed. The pain was agonizing. Every time it came, she felt like she was being stabbed. It couldn't be this bad. Giving birth couldn't hurt this much. If it did, no one would be able to stand it. It had to more than that. Something had to be wrong. And besides, it was too soon...

"Cloud!" she cried out.

She was moving. The ceiling was passing over her head. Where was she? She tried to look around, but everything was foggy. She saw someone looking down at her. A doctor? She saw Cloud's face too, and tried to concentrate on that. Sweat beaded on her brow. The pain came again.

Light. It was so bright. She couldn't look at it. She had to keep her eyes closed. The pain came yet again. She felt her muscles tighten. She heard someone say something. Relax? It sounded close by, but she couldn't be sure. What a stupid thing to say! How could she relax? How could she when she felt as if her abdomen were being torn apart.

Her thoughts flew wildly from one thing to another. Was she going to have the baby now? Could it survive? What was causing this pain? Unbidden, Jinn's predictions rose up in her mind. What was she giving birth to? Would it be human, or some kind of Jenova? Was she in pain because of injuries suffered in the fight, or was she about to give birth to some kind of monstrosity? Could fate be that cruel?

"Get her into surgery! We've got to get the child out. Prepare to perform an emergency C section"

Somehow those words made their way through the fog that enveloped Tifa's brain. Surgery? Were they going to cut her open? They wouldn't do that. They wouldn't do that unless something was seriously wrong. She tried to open her eyes. Tried to speak, to ask them what was going on. But she couldn't. The pain seemed to be diminishing, but she felt like she was drugged. Had they given her something? If she was going into surgery, they'd have to knock her out. She didn't want to be. She wanted to know what was happening. She wanted to know if her baby was going to be all right.

_My baby..._

Sounds. Metal jangling against metal. People's voices. The sound of feet thumping on the ground. There was no coherence. Tifa didn't understand. Couldn't tell what was going on. She felt hands, hands touching her. She didn't know what they were doing.

The baby...

It didn't matter. It didn't matter what it was like. She didn't care. She didn't care if it was human or Jenova, or some combination of both. It was hers. That was all that mattered. It was hers and she wanted it to live. She wanted it to live more than she had ever wanted anything in her entire life.

_Please don't let it die. _

_Please, I'll do anything. _

_Don't let it die. Take me. _

_Take me instead._


	18. The Calm After the Storm

CHAPTER XVIII

THE CALM AFTER THE STORM

"Make sure you change the bandage twice a day. I'd like you to come back in two or three days so I can check to make sure the wound is healing properly. Stay off your feet as much as possible, and of course, no strenuous exercise. Here's a prescription for a pain killer in case you need it. Do you have any questions?"

Aeris looked up at the doctor from her hospital bed and shook her head.

"I understand."

"All right," the doctor replied, handing her the prescription. "Good luck to you, Miss. Gainsborough."

"Thank you."

The doctor walked out the door. A moment later Reeve and Elmyra entered, Reeve pushing a wheelchair in front of him.

"How are you dear?" Elmyra questioned. "Looks like a night in the hospital did you some good."

Aeris smiled.

"I'm fine," she replied. "The doctor said I can go home. See, I told you there was nothing to worry about."

"That's great," Reeve said.

"That's fine," Elmyra said a little less enthusiastically while looking at her daughter closely. "But don't make light of it. It's a serious wound. The doctor said you were very lucky. Just a little deeper and you probably would have had to have surgery. You're going to have to take it easy until it heals."

"Yes mother," Aeris said contritely. "So the doctor was telling me."

"Are you ready to go?" Reeve said, with a nod at the wheelchair in front of him.

"I really don't think that's neces..." she began, but stopped at the sharp look Elmyra gave her.

"It's hospital policy," Elmyra informed her.

"Oh very well," Aeris conceded.

She slid her feet onto the floor and stood up. She stopped for a moment, her hand coming up to her side, feeling the bandage that was there under her clothes.

"Are you all right?" Elmyra said immediately.

"Yes," Aeris replied with a nod. "It was just a twinge."

Aeris slowly sank down in the wheelchair while Elmyra looked at her skeptically.

"All right, who should we go visit first?" Aeris questioned.

"Cid and Vincent are in room 315, Elena in 322 and Tifa is up in the maternity ward," Elmyra intoned.

"We've certainly got a lot of choices," Reeve commented. "Seems like half of Avalanche is hospitalized. Even Sephiroth didn't do this much damage. I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that none of us were killed."

"How many did die?' Aeris said after a moment.

Reeve paused before answering.

"Three people," he replied finally. "And Wisteria. It could have been a lot worse, Aeris."

The young Cetra nodded but did not reply. Three people killed. Three innocent civilians. Reeve was right, it could have been worse. It could have been a lot worse, but she couldn't rejoice over their success in defeating Wisteria if anyone died at all.

"So, where to?" Reeve questioned again. Aeris wasn't sure if he said that to find out or to prod her mind away from the direction it was taking.

"I know you'd probably like to see Tifa," Elmyra commented. "But I don't think she's awake yet. Cloud's up there and I don't think we should disturb them right now."

Aeris nodded. They probably had a lot to say to one another.

"All right," she agreed. "I guess Cid and Vincent first. They're the closest.

"315 it is then," Reeve said amiably.

They made there way down the hall. Before they even entered the room, they heard Cid's familiar voice.

"Well, it wouldn't be so goddam bad if they'd at least let me have a friggin' cigarette. Yes, I know we're not supposed to smoke, but what harm could one little cig do? I mean, I could close the door, and Vincent's certainly not going to complain, right?"

They reached the doorway and saw Cid lying very unhappily in bed with Shera sitting on it beside him. In a second bed in the room, Vincent lay quietly. Shera turned to look at them as they entered.

"Would someone please help me talk some sense into this man?" she pleaded.

Reeve shook his head vigorously.

"We learned a long time ago not to get between Cid and his cigarettes," he said. "I thought you would have too by now."

"Ordinarily yes," she replied. "But this is a hospital. There are _rules_."

"Rules!" Cid snapped. "I'm so sick of hearing about rules. Can't a man just do what he wants, if it doesn't bother anyone else? It's bad enough I can't smoke around the house anymore cause of the kid."

"Cid..." Shera admonished.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's for the best. I don't do it, do I? Isn't that enough rules to follow though? There should be a limit and I think I've reached mine."

"I see you're feeling better," Aeris piped up.

"I'm a resilient old bastard," Cid answered. "Ain't no damn reactor gonna do me in!"

"Cid, calm down before you give yourself a relapse," Shera said. She looked at Aeris. "He just regained consciousness this morning. The doctors said he was very lucky."

Aeris nodded, glancing at Elmyra. She found it comforting to see that she wasn't the only one who was being mother henned.

"I guess we were all lucky," she said, glancing over at Vincent. "How are you doing?"

Vincent shrugged.

"Though it might be some time before I am back on my feet again, the doctors say I will recover fully. That is, if I can survive my roommate's constant complaining."

"Hey, I don't complain that much," Cid complained. "And when I do, it's for a damn good reason!"

"I give up," Shera said. "I guess you've earned the right to complain, in this case. After all, you did manage to stop that reactor from exploding. Even though you nearly gave me a heart attack when they brought you in here suffering from mako poisoning. And even though you got through it this time, if you ever do something so stupid again, I swear I'll smack you silly!"

Cid looked at Shera in surprise.

"Yes ma'am," he said. He turned his gaze toward Reeve. "How's Cait, by the way?"

"He'll be fine," Reeve replied. "He shut down when his circuits got too hot, but he was fine once the reactor stopped and the place cooled off."

"So we all made it out okay," Cid said, shaking his head slowly. "Hard to believe. Oh yeah, what about that Calin guy?"

Vincent perked up at that.

"Calin guy?" he questioned.

"Yeah," Cid answered. "One of the scientists at the reactor. Apparently the one who infused Wisteria with mako in the first place. Anyway, he went into the reactor with me. If it hadn't been for him, we would never have made it."

"Interesting," Vincent said slowly.

"Interesting? Is that all you have to say?" Cid questioned.

"Wasn't Calin the name of the man Amanda said was her surrogate father when she was with the Fog?"

Cid frowned.

"Yes," Aeris replied. "Now that you mention it."

"You think it's the same guy?" Reeve questioned.

"Well, he did infuse Wisteria with mako, and that was the same procedure that Amanda underwent. Seems like an interesting coincidence, don't you think?"

They were all silent for a moment.

"I suppose, but it still could be a coincidence," Aeris said thoughtfully. "I'm sure there's more than one person named Calin around."

"Well, either way, what difference does it make?" Cid cut in. "The Fog is gone and the guy did help us stop the reactor. As far as I'm concerned, he's all right in my book."

Aeris propped an elbow on the arm of her wheelchair and rested her chin in her hand. "And isn't it true that Amanda told us that Calin was the only one who treated her well?" she reminded them.

"True," Vincent replied.

"So when are you getting out?" Reeve questioned.

"Not sure," Vincent replied. "The doctors don't seem to know. To tell you the truth, I don't think they've seen anyone quite like me before."

Reeve nodded silently. That was an understatement if he had ever heard one. He looked at Cid.

"How 'bout you?"

"About the same," Cid replied, sounding none too pleased at the prospect. "That is, if the nurses don't get sick of me and throw me out before that."

"You'll stay here as long as the doctors says you should," Shera proclaimed, in a voice that brooked no dissent. She turned toward Vincent. "You too!"

"Yes mother," Cid grumbled.

Vincent said nothing.

"Well, I'd like to stay and chat, but the doctors told me _I_ was free to leave," Aeris said, unable to pass up the chance to rub it in a bit. "And now I'm going to stop and say hello to Elena. Is there anything you'd like me to pass on to her, Vincent?"

"Just tell her I am well," he said simply.

"And tell her the escape plan is set for tonight at midnight," Cid added.

Aeris smiled and Reeve chuckled behind her.

"It's good to see that at least you haven't lost your sense of humor," Aeris said. "We'll have to have a celebration party when everyone gets out."

"Now you're talking!" Cid said, his face brightening.

"That's not going to be for a while yet," Shera pointed out.

"Don't remind me," Cid muttered.

Aeris pointed to the door.

"Onward my faithful chauffeur."

"Yes indeed ma'am," Reeve replied with the tip of an imaginary cap.

They left the room, heading down the hallway once again until Reeve turned into Elena's room.

She was lying in bed talking with Rude and Lai Li, who were sitting in chairs beside her. Her left arm was in a cast. She looked up and smiled when she saw them.

"Hi!"

"We've come for a visit," Elmyra said.

"Vincent says he's well," Aeris stated.

Elena nodded.

"How informative," she replied. "If you see him again, tell him I have a message for him too."

"And what might that be?" Aeris inquired.

"Tell him he owes me dinner for saving his ass when we fought Wisteria."

Aeris smiled.

"I'll be sure to let him know."

"Where's Reno?" Reeve questioned, directing his inquiry to Rude.

Rude shrugged.

"He was in earlier," Lai Li spoke up. "But you know Reno, he can't stay in one place for more than a few minutes."

"Unless it's a bar," Elena added.

"So when are they springing you?" Reeve asked. "Cid and Vincent are going to be released in a few days, at least. Something they're not very happy about.

"They said if they don't find anything else wrong, I'll probably be able to go home tomorrow," Elena replied. "I'm surprised they haven't thrown me out already, actually. I feel fine, and I'm sure they can use the bed, what with all the damage Wisteria did."

"Yeah, I heard you had your hands full here," Lai Li said. "How many people did she hurt?"

"I'm not sure..." Aeris said slowly. She looked at Reeve.

"There were fifty three people treated for injuries at the hospital," he said. "That doesn't count those who were treated at the scene and released. Nor the three dead of course. There was also over 500,000 in property damage to the buildings in the area. Or at least, that's what it's been estimated at so far, but I'm sure that figure's bound to increase."

"Hard to believe one person could do so much damage," Elmyra commented.

"Yeah," Reeve agreed. "Looking at the damage, you'd think an army went through town. She must have had tremendous strength of will."

Aeris nodded.

"It seems a shame. If she had turned that strength toward more socially acceptable pursuits, she could have done a lot of good."

"Perhaps," Reeve stated.

Elena didn't say anything, but she thought that comment just like Aeris. Always looking for the best in everyone. But she was used to it by now. She had never really liked Aeris. She thought of her as too much of a goody two shoes who let others fight her battles. And of course, probably more significantly, there was the whole Tseng thing. In fact, she had thought the whole cutesy attitude was just Aeris way of manipulating those around her to get what she wanted. Looking back on it, she realized now she had been wrong about that. Aeris had saved her from being shot on the southern continent. And the Cetra had stood her ground against both Jenova's disciples and Wisteria. Even more surprisingly to Elena, she had accepted Cloud and Tifa being a couple without any protest at all, or any sign of jealousy. Elena had to wonder if she would have handled it as well, and had to admit she had gained a newfound respect for the Ancient. She and Aeris were never going to be the best of friends, but they could tolerate each other.

"All right, well, I'm glad to see you weren't hurt too badly. I guess we better get going though. I really want to see Tifa," Aeris said.

"By all means," Elena replied.

They nodded to Rude and Lai Li and left the room.

"I guess we should head up to maternity," Aeris said. "Do you think Cloud and Tifa have had enough time to talk? Oh wait, is Gilan here?"

Reeve frowned at the sound of that name.

"Yes," he said after a pause. "In 354."

"I want to talk to him."

Reeve's lips formed a thin line. Aeris glanced at Elmyra and saw she had pretty much the same expression as Reeve.

"He _did_ try to help Tifa," Aeris reminded them. "We fought together against Wisteria. Perhaps we both learned a little bit about each other, enough to realize that we shouldn't be enemies."

Reeve was tempted to tell her he didn't really think it was a good idea. Even if Gilan's attitude had changed, he wasn't about to forgive the man for what had already occurred. If it hadn't been for Wisteria's interference, who knows what kind of damage the man could have caused?

But looking at Aeris, he knew it would be pointless to argue.

"Perhaps," he said slowly. Aeris had told them about how Gilan seemed to be able to manipulate people. He had to admit, the thought of someone being able to influence him without his knowledge made him very nervous.

"But you'll be able to tell if he tries to use that influence thing, right?"

Aeris nodded.

"And he can't use it by just looking at you. He has to talk, right?"

"I think so," Aeris concurred. "I don't know why but it's something about his voice, about the words he uses."

"I still don't understand that," Elmyra said. "How is he able to do it?"

"I'm not sure myself," Aeris replied. "I don't know if we'll ever know. He seems to be able to project his wishes to others through spoken words, although I've never heard of anyone ever having such a capability. I think it works in a similar fashion to the Cetra ability to talk to other Cetra who have passed on into the lifestream. I think that's why I can detect it. But as to how it's actually accomplished, I have no clue. I guess it's just some kind of gift."

"Some gift," Reeve muttered.

"Sounds like he'd make a great used car salesman," Elmyra tried to lighten the mood.

"Yeah," Reeve agreed ruefully. "Maybe we should try to convince him that's his true calling in life."

They reached the room and entered. Gilan was sitting up in bed reading a book. He looked up at them as they entered. If he was surprised, he didn't show it.

"Hello Gilan, how are you feeling?" Aeris asked.

"Well," Gilan said noncomittingly.

They were silent for a moment.

"Gilan, I realize we probably got off on the wrong foot.." Aeris began.

Gilan held up his hand.

"If this is regarding my feelings about you and the Cetra, let me make it plain right from the start that nothing has changed."

Reeve's face clouded with anger.

"How can you say that?" he blurted out. "How can you still question Aeris motives after what just happened? She saved dozens of lives, perhaps hundreds, including yours, I might add. Human lives. If it wasn't for her, you'd all be dead and Ifalnia would be rubble! Are you still trying to tell me that she's planning to take over the world?"

"All that you say may be true. She did the people of Ifalnia an invaluable service. But nothing that she did contraindicates any of the accusations I have made against her. Of course she helped the people of Ifalnia. Why wouldn't she? Most of them are her most faithful converts. Any loss of life her in Ifalnia would be a setback for her and her plans."

For a moment Reeve glared at Gilan. This was so infuriating. The man absolutely refused to listen to reason, refused to see the truth even if was shoved right in front of his face. The stupid part was, he was right. Nothing that Aeris had done could disprove his accusations. If he didn't know better, he'd have found Gilan's argument at least logical, if not reasonable. He glanced over at Aeris to see if Gilan was trying to influence him, but she mad no indication. Perhaps there was one hole...

"But she saved your life as well," Reeve went on. "And you're not one of her followers. In fact, if she was as devious as you claim, it would have been in her best interest to let you die. But she didn't. She used healing wind to save you. Why would she have done that unless she's really not as bad as you say?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Gilan replied. "At the time we were both fighting Wisteria, someone who posed a more immediate threat than we did to each other. Aeris had already seen just how powerful Wisteria was, and knew she needed all the help she could get to fight her. She didn't let me die because at the time, she needed my help."

Reeve just shook his head in frustration. The man was unbelievable.

"I can see how you might look at it that way," Aeris said slowly. "But I assure you it is not true. I would have helped you even if you weren't fighting with me against Wisteria. I give you my word on that."

Gilan just looked at her for a moment.

"The word of a Cetra," he said.

"She's half human!" Reeve snapped.

"Reeve, please," Aeris said.

"So nothing has changed?" Reeve said, ignoring Aeris. "When you get out of here you're going to go back to your church and start in again with all the anti-Cetra rhetoric? Let me tell you something, if you try that mob thing again I'll make sure..."

"Reeve!" Aeris said sharply.

"I bear you no ill will, Mr. Mayor," Gilan said. "In fact, the truth is, I pity you. The spell of the Cetra is alluring, and it's not surprising to see good men fall under her sway. I can only hope that someday you will wake up and realize the truth."

For a moment Reeve didn't know how to respond. How could you argue with someone who twisted everything around to fit his own warped view of the world?

"Look," he said sharply. "What will it take to get through to you? Aeris isn't trying to take over the world. She isn't even going to expand the church into other cities. That was all made up by Wisteria, just like she made up the accusations about Barret taking kickbacks in Corel and how she stirred up trouble for Red in Cosmo Canyon. She was just doing it to try to hurt anyone in Avalanche."

Gilan shrugged.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps there was a seed of truth in it."

Reeve opened his mouth, then shut it again. He stared at Gilan for a moment, then turned to Aeris.

"I knew this would be a waste of time," he said.

"I couldn't agree with you more," Gilan said. And, as if that was a dismissal, he lifted up his book and started to read again.

"I really wish we could have worked this out,' Aeris said, sounding genuinely unhappy. "But I see now that it's probably impossible. We're never going to see eye to eye, Gilan, but I'll tell you this, no matter what you do, I'm not going to let you shut down my church."

Gilan did not look in the least bit impressed.

"You may do as you wish. It's a free country," he said.

"Yeah, unless you happen to be Cetra," Reeve said pointedly. "C'mon Aeris, let's go. We're finished here."

Aeris didn't reply for a moment, looking at Gilan, but he ignored her. Finally she nodded her head. Reeve turned the wheelchair around and pushed it out of the room.

"Building a church without the proper permits. Inciting a riot. Destruction of property. Assault. I can have him in thrown in jail for a very long time.." Reeve growled, not really caring if Gilan was still in earshot.

"Just leave him alone," Aeris said.

Reeve stopped pushing.

"You know, I can understand it with him. He's a fanatic. He's got his own little warped perspective of life and he's dead set on seeing nothing else. But you, I do not understand. He incited a mob against you Aeris. He was ready to tear your church down no matter what anyone said, or who might get hurt. You told me before you didn't want us to condemn him without evidence, that he was just talk. Well, we all know that's not true now! Are you still trying to tell me he's not going to harm anyone?"

Aeris just looked at him for a moment.

"Well, do you?"

Still Aeris didn't speak. She looked at Reeve, who stood there, his look demanding an answer. Finally she looked down.

"It's kind of hard to explain," she said.

"Try," Reeve suggested, sounding a bit more conciliatory.

Aeris sighed.

"He's not an evil man. He really believes what he's saying. There's no doubt in his mind that he's doing the right thing. I can relate to that. I have a lot of faith in what I do to, in believing I'm doing the right thing. I'd hate to believe I'm wrong."

Reeve just shook his head.

"Even so. Even if he's not evil, what he's doing is still wrong. We can't let him run around doing any damn thing he pleases just because he believes he's right."

"I know," Aeris replied. It was obvious she was not comfortable talking about this. But Reeve wasn't going to let up. This was too important to him. "I guess I'm just sympathetic. Except for this obsession with this Cetra thing, he's not a bad person. Look at how he tried to help Tifa. Should we just forget about that? I guess I'm just hoping that he will somehow come to his senses. Maybe I'm just being naive, but I think he deserves another chance."

Reeve shook his head. He might have thought so too, before they had talked to the man.

"I think he made it pretty clear that's not going to happen," he said.

"Just give him a little time," Aeris replied. "That's not asking for too much, is it?"

They looked at one another for a minute. Finally Reeve shrugged.

"No matter what he's thinking, I don't think he's going to try anything anytime soon. We've got some time. We can talk about it some more after he gets out of the hospital. After he's had a chance to talk to his congregation, we'll probably have a better idea if he's changed at all. Until then, why don't we agree to drop the subject?"

Aeris nodded.

"If you wish."

"All right. I guess we should go up to maternity now and see how Tifa's doing."

He looked down the hallway.

"Elmyra, could you take her up there? I have to use the bathroom. I'll be right up."

"Sure," Elmyra said. She replaced Reeve behind the wheelchair and pushed it forward. Reeve walked over to the restroom and entered. A few moments later he stepped out again and looked down the all. Seeing that Aeris and Elmyra were gone, he walked back to Gilan's room.

This time Gilan did look surprised. Especially when he saw Reeve close the door behind him.

"I'm surprised to..." he began.

"Shut up!" Reeve snapped. Aeris wasn't with him now. He wouldn't be able to tell if Gilan was trying to influence him. But if he didn't allow the man to talk, he knew that wouldn't happen.

"I'm not here to have a discussion," he continued. "I'm here to tell you the facts."

"I don't..." Gilan tried again.

Reeve stepped forward. He reached down, grabbed hold of Gilan collar and pulled it tight.

"I said shut up!" he snarled. "Aeris might want to give you a second chance, but I'm not so generous. I don't give a damn what your beliefs are, you have no right to say the things you've said about Aeris, or try to incite a riot to destroy her church. I've put with you for this long because Aeris didn't want me to interfere. But this time you've gone too far. You've proved that your a danger, a danger to Aeris, and I won't have that. So I'm putting you on notice. If I hear you say anything inflammatory about Aeris or her church, I'll throw you in jail for inciting a riot and tear your church down brick by brick. And don't think I won't be able to do it."

He pulled Gilan closer, until their faces were only inches apart.

"And if you _ever_ threaten Aeris, or try to hurt her or get someone else to try to hurt her, I swear to God I'll hunt you down and kill you with my own hands!"

For a moment they just stared at one another, then Reeve pushed Gilan away. He turned, and without another word, walked out the door.

* * *

It was dark.

Tifa blinked her eyes and looked around slowly. The lights were out, except for a small one above a sink. She was lying in bed. That much was obvious. In the hospital, which was again obvious. She turned her head and saw Cloud sitting in a chair beside her. His head was resting on his chest and his eyes were closed. His left hand rested on her arm.

She turned toward him. The covers shifted and Cloud's eyes immediately opened.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

Tifa didn't reply. Even that little movement had caused an ache in her abdomen. She looked down, running her hand across her flat stomach. So it hadn't been a dream.

"The baby..." she said softly.

"He's alive," Cloud said. "The doctors say it's going to be touch and go for the next few days. He's kind of small, but they say he's got a decent chance of making it. Like I said, he's kind of small, but other than that, he's perfectly normal."

Tifa let her head fall back onto the bed, relief flooding through her.

"Perfectly normal?" she said slowly.

Cloud nodded.

"No sign of any strange tentacles, or mako eyes, or anything like that."

"I was so scared..." she said slowly.

Cloud gripped her hand.

"I know," he said. "I was too. But I think he's going to be okay."

"I hope so," she replied, then; "He?"

"Yup, it's a boy."

She smiled.

"Our little Cloud Jr."

Cloud looked at her for a moment.

"Actually, I was thinking about that..."

She waited for him to go on.

"We never really decided on a name."

Tifa nodded.

"True, but I thought if it was a boy, you'd want to name him after yourself. I don't mind, you know."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "But like I said, I was thinking. I remember I got teased a lot when I was young about that name."

"I remember too," Tifa said.

"You do?" Cloud replied. "I thought you had forgotten about that."

"I remember the kids making fun of you," she said. "I did notice, though you might not have known."

Cloud looked at her for a moment, then nodded.

"Anyways, I was thinking about alternatives, and I think I've come up with one. How would you feel about naming him Zangan?"

Tifa looked at Cloud in surprise.

"Zangan?" she said. "Why, I...I think that would be a really good idea. But Cloud, you surprise me. You didn't know him all that well."

"Yeah, but I knew him well enough to know he was like a father to you," Cloud replied. "I don't know, it just seems...appropriate to me."

"I think it's a wonderful ideal," Tifa stated.

"All right, well I guess that's settled then."

"Now I want to see him," Tifa said. She hadn't even gotten a chance to hold him.

"I'm sure you will soon enough," Cloud said. "But right now both of you need your rest. Like I said, he's just a little guy. He's only four pounds and three ounces. He looks so small, even compared to the other babies. The runt of the litter, just like his dad."

"Cloud..." Tifa admonished. "You may have been the runt of the litter, but you certainly turned out well. If he's half the man his father is, he'll have plenty to be proud of."

Cloud smiled and patted her arm.

Tifa looked down and shook her head.

"What?" Cloud questioned.

"Nothing," Tifa replied. "I just can't believe we have a baby."

Suddenly she looked up at him.

"Cloud, I'm sorry."

He frowned.

"Whatever for?"

"I went to help Aeris," she said. "I put the baby at risk. I don't know what I would have done if we'd lost it. It would have been all my fault. I can understand if you were mad..."

"Tifa! Don't be ridiculous!" he said, gripping her hand tightly. "I don't blame you for that. How could I? You were trying to help a friend. For all we know, if you hadn't been there Aeris might have been killed, along with a lot of other people. If I would have been in your shoes, I would have done the same thing."

Tifa nodded. She really didn't feel like Cloud would blame her, but she had to hear it herself, just for the reassurance. Yet even so, even if he didn't blame her, she still wasn't sure she had done the right thing. It was easy to say she had now, now that she knew their child was all right. But it was true, she had put the baby at risk. Would he be so magnominious if something had happened, if they had lost the baby? Would she ever have been able to forgive herself?

"I just hope I'm cut out for this mother thing," she said softly.

Cloud put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him.

"I think you'll be a great mom," he said.

"I hope so," she replied. "I'm just going to have to realize that I've got responsibilities now, that I can't go running off to save the world every time it needs saving."

"Well, I do too, now don't I?" Cloud responded. "But hopefully, we won't have to run off to save the world anytime soon. Hopefully we're done with that sort of thing."

"We've said that before," Tifa said ruefully. "And look how wrong we were."

She'd thought it was over. And yes, she'd thought that before as well. All their old Shinra enemies had been defeated. But she hadn't thought about what they had done on the southern continent. She hadn't thought about what other enemies they had made, besides Shinra. Who else might be out there, even now, plotting against them? She tried to think back to what else they had done, who else they had opposed who might come back to haunt them. She couldn't think of anyone. But maybe now she was being a little too paranoid.

"Yeah," he replied. "But look at the bright side. The baby is normal. Which proves once and for all that Jinn's predictions were lies. You don't have to have any nightmares anymore about the baby turning out to be some sort of monster. All our enemies are defeated or gone. We've got as good a chance as anyone of living happily ever after."

Tifa smiled.

"Like in a fairy tale? I can think of nothing I'd like more Cloud, but forgive me if I'm skeptical. After all we've been through, I just don't think that our settling down and living out a normal life is in the cards, do you?"

Cloud looked at her for a moment.

"You know, you used to be so optimistic," he observed.

Tifa laughed.

"I know. I sound like...well, I don't know who I sound like. Some very depressing person, I guess. I'll try to stop. After all, even after all that happened, things have turned out pretty well. I've got you and the baby, and all our friends. Looking at it that way, I've got a lot to be grateful for."

Cloud nodded.

"That's more like it."

"So when do we get to go home?"

"I'm not sure," he replied. "Wisteria beat you up pretty badly. And the baby's still not out of the woods yet. A couple of days at least, I should think. But don't worry, you'll have plenty of company."

"How so?" she questioned.

"Aeris, Cid, Vincent and Elena are all in here with you," he replied.

"Really?" Tifa said. "Wisteria did that much damage?"

"Yeah," Cloud replied. "And she hurt a ton of other people here in Ifalnia too. Well, all except Cid. He wasn't hurt by Wisteria, but that's another story, and I'm sure he'll be glad to elaborate on it for you. But it looks like they're all going to be okay."

Tifa nodded. All those people hurt by one person. It seemed hard to believe. They had been lucky to beat Wisteria. They had been lucky to beat Sephiroth. How much longer before their luck ran out?

There you go again, she silently admonished herself. It was over, and there was no reason to believe it wasn't for good this time. Maybe it was time to leave the shadows of the past behind them and look ahead to the future. Maybe now they'd finally get their chance to live in peace. There was no reason to think otherwise.

"I tried to save you, but I was too late again."

She looked at him for a moment, wondering if that was going to bother him, like it had so many times in the past, but he didn't seem upset.

"I can take care of myself," she said slowly.

"So I saw," he replied. "You pack a mean punch, Tifa."

She smiled.

"I guess so, at least, when I'm _really_ mad."

"But the point is," Cloud went on, "that we can all take care of ourselves. Even Aeris. I can't be everywhere at once. I can't protect everyone, nor should I need to. It's taken me a long time to realize that."

For a long time she just looked at him. She hadn't thought he'd ever say such a thing.

"So does that mean you've forgiven yourself for Aeris death? That you've finally realized that it wasn't your fault?" she said slowly.

He looked down at the floor for a moment, then raised his head to meet her gaze again.

"Yes," he replied. "And now it's your turn to do the same thing."

Tifa looked puzzled.

"Huh?"

"Many times you've mentioned the innocent people who died when we blew up the reactors at Midgar. I know you blame yourself for that. You've mentioned it more than once. But that wasn't your fault Tifa. It was war. We were doing it to stop Shinra. You know that. And you weren't the one who pressed the button."

For a long time they just looked at one another. He was right. And she knew it. But even if she hadn't pressed the button, she felt just as responsible. And yes, it had been war, or the nearest thing to it, but that didn't change the fact that they had killed innocent people. This was different than what happened to Aeris. But that wasn't really the point. Hadn't she just said to herself it was time to forget the shadows of the past and look toward the future?

"All right," she said. "I'll try."

Cloud nodded.

"You do that."

She looked into his eyes.

"I love you," she said.

He brought his hand up to her cheek and lifted her head toward him. He kissed her.

"I love you too," he said.

"And we have a baby," she said happily.

"Yes we do," he agreed with a smile. "And we're going to live happily ever after, no matter what you say. All three of us. Understand?"

She smiled at him.

"Yes, I understand," she said. "All three of us."

**THE END**

* * *

_**Publisher's Note:** This ends Shadows of the Past, which is (along with SfA) my least favorite of Frank's work, perhaps because I'm tocophobic. At any rate, Frank's final story, Cetra Destiny, will be up shortly._


End file.
